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In reply to the discussion: 8/2(2+2) what do you come up with? [View all]zipplewrath
(16,646 posts)157. Poorly written equation
For any other purpose that trying to test a students ability to correctly deconstruct an equation, this is a horribly written equation.
Having spent a career expressing ideas and conveying instructions in equations, one would NEVER write it this way. Even in a piece of software, one would write it more clearly to reflect intent.
But furthermore, most equations are combinations of various "quantities" that represent something "physical" or an individual effect. So 8/2 might be a radius calculation. Or (2+2) might be a+b where both just happen to be 2. Or it could be that 8*(2+2) represents a whole quantity and we are looking for half of it. But whatever the case, I would write the equation to clearly show these relationships.
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Nothing, 16 is absolutely the correct answer ... someone else is missing something ;)
mr_lebowski
Aug 2019
#4
If that is what they are teaching children those children are going to be seriously math challenged.
honest.abe
Aug 2019
#60
No one who knows anything about calculations would write a formula like that because they'd
Hoyt
Aug 2019
#14
I mastered the equation from an former Nazi rocket fuel scientist while I was in the Army
Brother Buzz
Aug 2019
#25
I get stoned as I pray ... check this one out brother ... from last year ...
mr_lebowski
Aug 2019
#44
fraction bars function the same as brackets/parens, which is how people are getting the answer 1
fishwax
Aug 2019
#45
You're right about the keyboard, but the same principle applies w/ an elementary division symbol
fishwax
Aug 2019
#68
yeah, looking back I wound up being more confusing than I intended with my initial post
fishwax
Aug 2019
#122
No; putting it into my scientific calculator, using in place of /
muriel_volestrangler
Aug 2019
#134
A necessary minor redundancy to eliminate confusion like we see in this thread.
honest.abe
Aug 2019
#73
So those confused by this arbitrary math rule have less than 7th grade math skills??
honest.abe
Aug 2019
#113
FWIW, if you enter the equation into Google search it formats the equation exactly I wrote it.
honest.abe
Aug 2019
#123
Exactly. The point of writing equations (or anything) is to make the meaning clear to the reader.
DanTex
Aug 2019
#94
This is boring. There are rules of sequence which are arbitrary. Who cares if you don't know it?
Cicada
Aug 2019
#76
It's an ambiguous question, and depends on leftmost or rightmost binding rules
Recursion
Aug 2019
#107
A counter-example to your interpretation comes from the Feynman lectures
muriel_volestrangler
Aug 2019
#140
Hmm, what do I consider more authoritative, Richard Feynman, or Excel?
muriel_volestrangler
Aug 2019
#142
As punchlines go, that's an unexpected one, but pretty funny (nt)
muriel_volestrangler
Aug 2019
#148