Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Science and Technology
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
Old 09-19-2011, 08:16 AM
 
Location: Ohio
3,437 posts, read 6,053,268 times
Reputation: 2700

Advertisements

Still going on? For more fun Google "48÷2(9+3) debate"

This is like the "plane on a treadmill" one.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 09-19-2011, 09:39 AM
 
6,484 posts, read 6,591,387 times
Reputation: 1275
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles View Post
Saw this somewhere else. What is the answer? (There was no Math forum so I placed it here.)
SQL Server 2008 says it's 288
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-19-2011, 10:15 AM
 
Location: Richardson, TX
8,734 posts, read 13,758,218 times
Reputation: 3807
Oh brother, a lot of people are not smarter than a 5th grader.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-19-2011, 10:29 AM
 
Location: Richardson, TX
8,734 posts, read 13,758,218 times
Reputation: 3807
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alacran View Post
48÷2(9+3)

48/2(9+3)

48
2(9+3)


48
2(12)

48
24

2

Can I make it any simpler???
Pretty simple. Sometimes you need to draw a picture for some people.

Last edited by PanTerra; 09-19-2011 at 11:45 AM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-19-2011, 05:53 PM
 
Location: NW Las Vegas - Lone Mountain
15,756 posts, read 38,052,916 times
Reputation: 2661
Someone earlier claimed excel validates 288...

It don't.

Errors out and suggests 48/2*(9+3) which does validate to 288.

Good lesson. Excel claims it is not valid as written.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-20-2011, 04:02 AM
 
Location: in a galaxy far far away
19,104 posts, read 16,474,037 times
Reputation: 33120
I have nothing to add. I'm just here to be entertained

Attachment 85083

Last edited by JGC97; 06-28-2015 at 01:24 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-20-2011, 10:52 AM
 
Location: Richardson, TX
8,734 posts, read 13,758,218 times
Reputation: 3807
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cav Scout wife View Post
I have a TI-30XIIS.

I type in 48/2(9+3) and get 288.
It's a rudimentary computer, garbage in - garbage out. It isn't given any calculation conventions. That's on you.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-20-2011, 11:08 AM
 
Location: The Internet
355 posts, read 866,461 times
Reputation: 443
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alacran View Post
48÷2(9+3)
48÷2(12)
48÷24
2

What's so hard about that?
This is the correct way to solve this problem. The answer is 2. Remember PEMDAS. Algebraic equations should be in solved in the following order: Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction. The 2 and 12 therefore get multiplied before being divided into 48.

Last edited by RottenChester; 09-20-2011 at 11:11 AM.. Reason: fixed typo
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-20-2011, 02:42 PM
 
24,488 posts, read 40,985,403 times
Reputation: 12919
Quote:
Originally Posted by RottenChester View Post
This is the correct way to solve this problem. The answer is 2. Remember PEMDAS. Algebraic equations should be in solved in the following order: Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction. The 2 and 12 therefore get multiplied before being divided into 48.
I remember PEMDAS. Apparently you don't. You seem to think that multiplication comes before division.

This is what's horrible about our school systems. They don't teach math well at all. People tend to think that there is a difference between multiplication and division and thus think there has to be an order to it. But if you (not just RottenChester -- but I am using you as an example) understood basic math, you would know that they are the same thing, and thus would realize that they cannot be ordered. And that FACT has nothing to do with the original problem being questioned here. It has to do with your lack of understanding of math.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-20-2011, 05:06 PM
 
Location: The Internet
355 posts, read 866,461 times
Reputation: 443
Quote:
Originally Posted by NJBest View Post
I remember PEMDAS. Apparently you don't. You seem to think that multiplication comes before division.

This is what's horrible about our school systems. They don't teach math well at all. People tend to think that there is a difference between multiplication and division and thus think there has to be an order to it. But if you (not just RottenChester -- but I am using you as an example) understood basic math, you would know that they are the same thing, and thus would realize that they cannot be ordered. And that FACT has nothing to do with the original problem being questioned here. It has to do with your lack of understanding of math.
I understand that in some instances that the multiplication and division functions are interchangeable.

For example:
(24/4*6)
becomes
(6*6)
becomes
36

However in the original asked equation, 48÷2(9+3)

You DO NOT divide the 48 by 2 and then multiply it by 12! The equation to the right of the division sign commands your attention first because of the parenthesis component. Think of it this way, 2(9+3) is basically like writing the number 24, in that it is a whole number and you can't just part out a piece of it.

You are absolutely right however in that our school systems must be in sorry shape if people like you cannot do 8th grade math.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Science and Technology
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top