What Is The Answer To This Simple Math Problem?

[MoparOrNoCar]

No fucking wonder I was constantly hit or miss in albegra. I thought PEMDAS went in order no matter what. Had no idea that you went left to right whether it was multiplication or division first.

They seriously taught us to go in the exact PEMDAS order. I'd get a quiz back and get 50% on it and I'm like I fucking know that I did this in that exact order, so why is every question hit or miss?

That explains it.

 

[chickenluver]

I meant more the M and the D being in different order.

As stated ITT, that orderering doesn't matter since they are of equal priority

No fucking wonder I was constantly hit or miss in albegra. I thought PEMDAS went in order no matter what. Had no idea that you went left to right whether it was multiplication or division first.

They seriously taught us to go in the exact PEMDAS order.

No they didn't

 

[Dizzy]

4, baby

 

[Doughbelly]

No fucking wonder I was constantly hit or miss in albegra. I thought PEMDAS went in order no matter what. Had no idea that you went left to right whether it was multiplication or division first.

They seriously taught us to go in the exact PEMDAS order. I'd get a quiz back and get 50% on it and I'm like I fucking know that I did this in that exact order, so why is every question hit or miss?

That explains it.

In mathematics, multiplication is the same operation as division. Fundamentally, division is a multiplication by multiplicative inverse. One of the many reasons you can't divide by zero is because zero doesn't have a multiplicative inverse.

In the same way, subtraction is addition by negative.

So the mnemonic should go (PE)(MD)(AS). Also, remember that it's just a mnemonic. It's not like a mnemonic is in and of itself a self evident rule that appears when you rub some axioms together.

Guys. It's 4. There are no other acceptable alternative answers.

Nonsense!

In academic publishing, implied multiplication AB has precedence over explicit multiplication A*B (and therefore division) because something like .8x or 13y is to be read as a single term. The multiplication operation of 4(2) is non-explicit and implied, so would carry precedence.

 

[JoeDeeCee]

In academic publishing, implied multiplication AB has precedence over explicit multiplication A*B (and therefore division) because something like .8x or 13y is to be read as a single term. The multiplication operation of 4(2) is non-explicit and implied, so would carry precedence.

Thats a good point. but I would argue what is A/BC? Because A/B also implies division. Thats really the question and I can see why it's ambiguous now. Use your parentheses and brackets boys and girls.

(A/B)C and A/(BC).......

 

[Cheese]

Ok I was wrong. The answer is 4

 

[gotBooched]

sooooo.....what's the answer?

 

[ThinkGreen]

I got 4, pretty sure you do the parentheses first.

 

[Doughbelly]

Thats a good point. but I would argue what is A/BC? Because A/B also implies division. Thats really the question and I can see why it's ambiguous now. Use your parentheses and brackets boys and girls.

(A/B)C and A/(BC).......

In this case, the latter, because A/B is explicit division so BC would happen first.

Again, order of operations is a convention, not an axiom, law, proof, etc, so the "rules" are subject to variation depending on the community.

 

[Doughbelly]

sooooo.....what's the answer?

There is no one answer, it is an intentionally ambiguous question.

Short answer, for most people the answer should be 4. For academics, scientists and engineers (depending on the field), 1 could be just as valid.

 

[Real_Magi]

I got 4.


You do brackets or parenthesis first, then multiply/divide.

So, 8/4(1+1)
8/4(2)
8/4 is 2. 2(2) is 4.

I assume the proper protocol when multiply/divide are given the same weight in solving an equation, you simply go in order. So, 8 divided by 4 times 2.

This.

 

[gotBooched]

There is no one answer, it is an intentionally ambiguous question.

Short answer, for most people the answer should be 4. For academics, scientists and engineers (depending on the field), 1 could be just as valid.

but it's a math problem - i thought part of the definition of a math problem is that there is one answer, and only one answer?

 

[gotBooched]

Not if the question's fucked up in the first place.

aha...

maybe it's not even a math problem at all

 

[phipps66]

won

 

[Doughbelly]

This question was designed to be ambiguous. It uses two forms of division symbols and uses both explicit and implicit multiplication. If you're someone who works with advanced mathematics, then there are further conventions for writing equations beyond that PEDMAS mnemonic that kids learn in grade school to keep everything from turning into a mass of parenthesis. Furthermore, different notations imply different things

So for example, if I wrote 1

 

[NSX-R]

Went to engineering school for a few years though I didn't finish. We never used multiplication or division signs; only parentheses, underlines, forward slashes, addition, and subtraction signs.

8/((4)(1+1)) = 1 in engineering school.

 

[BJ@LW&WW]

why would you put the 2 in the brackets?

I get the equation, but why?

48/2 (9 + 3)

48/2 (12)

24 x 12 = 288
___________________________

48/2 (9 +3)

48/ (2(9+3))

48/(2(12))

48/(24)

48/24= 2

because by some conventions a(b+c) means that a is directly associated with whatever is in the parentheses. really, to write something like that is short hand and should really be a*(b+c), in which case if it were d/a*(b+c), there would be no question that it would be equivalent to (d/a)*(b/c). it's because it is shorthand and done out of convenience typically when it is meant that the a is associated with the parentheses that there is confusion.

 

[zackryder]

This question was designed to be ambiguous. It uses two forms of division symbols and uses both explicit and implicit multiplication. If you're someone who works with advanced mathematics, then there are further conventions for writing equations beyond that PEDMAS mnemonic that kids learn in grade school to keep everything from turning into a mass of parenthesis. Furthermore, different notations imply different things

So for example, if I wrote 1

 

[griffithberserk]

The people saying 1 need to review grade school math. The answer is 4

 

[NSX-R]

I'm repeating myself but in engineering school, the question would be posted like this in two rows:

___8___ = 1
4(1+1)

No ambiguity as all engineering students would calculate it as 1.