Poll: 6÷2(1+2)

6/2(1+2) = ?

  • 9

    Votes: 516 68.9%

  • 1

    Votes: 233 31.1%
  • Total voters
    749
Frenzy said:
I'd say 9, but I find it very worrying that people can't agree on an answer. Surely there is one rule to determine who is correctly or is maths just that flakey?

Googling doesn't give a solid answer either, just a lot of arguing like in this thread...

edit i admit i didnt read every page but it seems a few math genii have given proof it is 9, my mind is at ease :P
Click to expand...

Pretty much anyone doing applied maths/engineering/economics etc would more likely interpret it to answer 1 as expressions like X(A+B) arise all the time and always relate to one term. You would never write X(A+B) otherwise. The expression is crap, but if the person intended the answer to be 9 they should have written (6(1+2))/2, and in the same way if they intended the answer to be 1 they should have written 6/(2(1+2)).

Arguing is pointless though as we've discussed, you would never encounter such an expression and even if you did it would be in context so you would know whether 2(1+2) was one term.
 
There's plenty of people who can't understand the concept of i being a number.

Or in fact the concept of using letters in maths.

Yet we do.

Same as there are plenty of people in this thread who cannot understand that the question is an ambiguity used as a troll.

Yet it is :)
 
Shayper said:
There's plenty of people who can't understand the concept of i being a number.

Or in fact the concept of using letters in maths.

Yet we do.

Same as there are plenty of people in this thread who cannot understand that the question is an ambiguity used as a troll.

Yet it is :)
Click to expand...

Alternatively, we understand completely.

We see that with a standard, a convention governing use of operators, and given people who have knowledge of said standard and ability to apply it to a given problem, the OP would be ineffective as a troll.

The reason for the effectiveness of this thread as a troll is not the lack of a standard. It's the lack of knowledge of this standard, and unwillingness to embrace said standard when some would prefer "ambiguity" as a solution.

Ie there are people who would prefer no solution to a solution which doesn't gratify them personally.

It is not an exercise in math. It is a damning observation on human nature.
 
dowie said:
Ermmm it removes the need for parenthesis.

How else would you evaluate 2x^2 without parenthesis unless we had a standard order of operations.
Click to expand...

Er, the example I show is that YOU NEED to put the brackets in to use BODMAS, that is not actually required in the equation.

Have you actually looked at the example I've shown explaining how applying BODMAS does not work all the time?
 
wmb said:
Er, the example I show is that YOU NEED to put the brackets in to use BODMAS, that is not actually required in the equation.

Have you actually looked at the example I've shown explaining how applying BODMAS does not work all the time?
Click to expand...

No

if you'd written 1÷X+Y then you'd need to put parenthesis around the X+Y in order to indicate the divisor 1÷(X+Y)

However writing it as a fraction there isn't a requirement to do so.

If we didn't follow convention then how could someone write 2X^2 without using parenthesis.

Obviously everyone knows 2X^2 is 2(X^2) and not (2X)^2

we can only do this because we have a convention for dealing with operators

similarly 1/2x is (1/2)x and not 1/(2x)

which is what some people mis-understand when they state the answer to the OP is 1
 
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dowie said:
similarly 1/2x is (1/2)x and not 1/(2x)

which is what some people mis-understand when they state the answer to the OP is 1
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If I saw 1/2x I'd read it as 1/(2x) as I'd expect (1/2)x to be written with the 1/2 as a fraction rather than all in one line. Obviously that's not easy to do on a forum like this without groping for the 1/2 symbol to insert, but if it were handwritten or word processed then I'd certainly expect to see it done properly.
 
gambitt said:
dowie, I think you should do a thesis on the ÷ symbol since you are clearly obsessed with it :o
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Nah - I'm obsessed with some other things mathematical - analysis of time series data in particular but I learned how to use basic operators many years ago.... Am just posting in here because I'm pedantic.
 
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vonhelmet said:
If I saw 1/2x I'd read it as 1/(2x) as I'd expect (1/2)x to be written with the 1/2 as a fraction rather than all in one line.
Click to expand...

Well yes, quite - that is the problem. And that sort of issue won't generally occur and neither would the question in the OP as you'd usually use a fraction bar to avoid confusion.

However if you do need to represent division on one line (perhpas inputting into a calculator or spreadsheet) you use ÷ or / and there is a convention for dealing with them as with other operators, they're not open to interpretation.
 
vonhelmet said:
I've woken up and figured out how to phrase my beef with this.

Bodmas is only needed when resolving expressions that are so badly written that they require bodmas. It's a circular issue. Write it without the need for bodmas and you don't need bodmas because you can read it properly.
Click to expand...

so is 1+2x badly written? Without bodmas, you could understand that as (1+2)x=3x
bodmas is a standard needed to reduce to amount of brackets required, and whether you like it or not, it is standard and correct and not using it gets you the wrong answer (Not a different, correct answer but the wrong answer... i.e. in the OP, 1 is wrong)

plasmahal said:
No he didn't.....

He correct;y resolved the bottom half of the fraction first, 2 x 3 = 6 then 6 over 6 is 1.

Too many people have lost sight of the original question posted by the OP and not getting the concept of ambiguity.

Too many people are also fixated on BODMAS that they have lost sight of mathematics being a language with many rules and sub dialects.
Click to expand...

One of the rules being BODMAS. The denominator is 2, not 6

plasmahal said:
My theory is they come from a schooling that has drummed BODMAS into their brains so hard they cannot accept any other possibilities if the equation is not written properly.

In real life we have to question ambiguity and then work out what the real question is, sticking to one rule and one rule only is not the way forward.
Click to expand...

In maths, we have rules which are followed to remove ambiguity. BODMAS is drummed in because BODMAS is correct.

wmb said:
No see the example I give above. BODMAS should only be used when you are sure the equation in front of you is in a logical form!
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No... BODMAS tells you how to imterpret it correctly - the OP question is in a logical form if you know how to do maths correctly.

Clown said:
This is where all the 9ers are getting their ammunition. They're saying that it's the division sign not a fraction so order of operations takes precedence. Funny how some people who turned it into a fraction still got 9 though...

Shabba.
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Division and fraction signs are the same, but without brackets, the numerator and denominator are the shortest possible when using division sign. i.e. The fraction is 6/2 - not 6/(2(1+2))

wmb said:
See my post at the top of the page. BODMAS is a rule which er, doesn't work without putting brackets in!
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What??? BODMAS includes brackets in the order. What do you think the B stands for?

scott212 said:
Pretty much anyone doing applied maths/engineering/economics etc would more likely interpret it to answer 1 as expressions like X(A+B) arise all the time and always relate to one term. You would never write X(A+B) otherwise. The expression is crap, but if the person intended the answer to be 9 they should have written (6(1+2))/2, and in the same way if they intended the answer to be 1 they should have written 6/(2(1+2)).

Arguing is pointless though as we've discussed, you would never encounter such an expression and even if you did it would be in context so you would know whether 2(1+2) was one term.
Click to expand...

The expression is fine. You are just adding unnecessary brackets if you put (6(1+2))/2 or (6/2)(1+2)

And I'm doing engineering and I say 9.

wmb said:
Have you actually looked at the example I've shown explaining how applying BODMAS does not work all the time?
Click to expand...

BODMAS does work all the time... Sometimes you need brackets in BODMAS, but BODMAS negates the need for most of them
 
Over 1,000 posts and nearly 15,000 views... seriously people, sometimes you just have to let it go.

And that includes whatever smartarse thinks they'll win by getting the last word in.
 
To BODMAS fans boys, Please evaluate the following equation, demonstrating the use of your chosen golden rule and showing your working:

1
_______
2+3

If you don't reply I will interpret this as either, 1) you are incapable of solving simple equations or 2) you've eventually seen the light and now realised that the rule is selective and cannot be applied in every case.
 
Primary school maths:

1. We must always apply BODMAS and work from left to right.
2. The ÷ symbol is used for dividing, you're just not smart enough if you don't understand it.
3. square root of 4 is 2; the square root of -4 is... err.. it's not possible.


Higher level maths:

1. It's not necessary to recite the rules of BODMAS to yourself every time you solve an equation. By now the rules of simplifying algebra using basic techniques as well as clever substitutions are second nature.

2. What is the ÷ symbol anyway? I haven't seen that thing since I learnt long multiplication when I was 8.

3. Complex numbers are fun.
 
wmb said:
To BODMAS fans boys, Please evaluate the following equation, demonstrating the use of your chosen golden rule and showing your working:

1
_______
2+3

If you don't reply I will interpret this as either, 1) you are incapable of solving simple equations or 2) you've eventually seen the light and now realised that the rule is selective and cannot be applied in every case.
Click to expand...


1/(2+3)
1/(5)
1/5
 
wmb said:
To BODMAS fans boys, Please evaluate the following equation, demonstrating the use of your chosen golden rule and showing your working:

1
_______
2+3

If you don't reply I will interpret this as either, 1) you are incapable of solving simple equations or 2) you've eventually seen the light and now realised that the rule is selective and cannot be applied in every case.
Click to expand...

The answer is:

(2^2)/10

:p
 
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