How the hell is this not 32?

[SexyGreyFox]

Wow even I got the right answer and I'm an official maths numpty. I have the lack of qualifications to prove it.

Like - same here.
However I only learned about BODMAS about 5 years ago when Facebook's timeline was full of them otherwise I wouldn't have a clue.

And D3K, calm down, I bet you're fun in the pub.

 

[Lima]

To be fair to OP -

I knew perfectly well how to solve the maths question, bracket then divide then minus. I typed it in to my iphone calculator and I got 32 as the answer. Reason being that for some reason when i typed in -17 it didn't seem to want to acknowledge the '-'

 

[Clarkson]

Have to admit I go a little american and have used 'PEMDAS' before, with parentheses and exponents being the first two. Brackets have square edges.

I'm far from a maths guru but in the final semester of my Mech Eng degree..sure I wish I was more natural with it and its tough sometimes but you have to find a way OP, don't worry.

 

[D3K]

To be fair to OP -

I knew perfectly well how to solve the maths question, bracket then divide then minus. I typed it in to my iphone calculator and I got 32 as the answer. Reason being that for some reason when i typed in -17 it didn't seem to want to acknowledge the '-'

Getting 32 is impossible on any device unless you can't read mathematical operators.

Why are you so mad/want to belittle others?

Who says I'm raging?! This is tough love

 

[Scrutinize]

If you do this on a Windows calculator in one hit even following the right order you get 32 because it overrules the division of a negative sign simply as a subtraction.

That is the only way I have managed to replicate it to 32. On paper and on any other calculator it gives the right answer.

 

[D3K]

If you do this on a Windows calculator in one hit even following the right order you get 32 because it overrules the division of a negative sign simply as a subtraction.

That is the only way I have managed to replicate it to 32. On paper and on any other calculator it gives the right answer.

It is not overruling, it is assuming you want to subtract rather than divide. If you press a different button you get a different response.

This is the button you want to be pressing, not the subtract sign

 

[Scrutinize]

It is not overruling, it is assuming you want to subtract rather than divide. If you press a different button you get a different response.

This is the button you want to be pressing, not the subtract sign

Yes but in the standard non scientific mode that's not there.

Overruling / overwtiting your key entry of ÷ with - is exactly what it does.

Regardless, it's the only calculator I could replicate it on which doesn't accept a - after a ÷ in situ.

Even my basic physical calc does the sign input ok.

It's obvious looking at it that 53 ÷ -17 or even 53÷17 would not be 34 so you can only get to that blindly entering the sequence and the standard windows calc is the only one that I found that can achieve 32.

Even if you don't understand bodmas you don't get 32 you get -1.333

 

[D3K]

Yes but in the standard non scientific mode that's not there.

Overruling / overwtiting your key entry of ÷ with - is exactly what it does.

Regardless, it's the only calculator I could replicate it on which doesn't accept a - after a ÷ in situ.

Even my basic physical calc does the sign input ok.

It's obvious looking at it that 53 ÷ -17 or even 53÷17 would not be 34 so you can only get to that blindly entering the sequence and the standard windows calc is the only one that I found that can achieve 32.

Even if you don't understand bodmas you don't get 32 you get -1.333

It's right there, bottom left.

The calculator is fine, you're just assuming that all dash symbol are the same when they're not.
One is an operator, the other is a sign.

As for hardware calcs, been a long time since I used one, but the last one I had worked the same way as the windows calc.

 

[UTmaniac]

Douglas Adams thinks you are out by 10.

 

[Scrutinize]

The calculator is fine, you're just assuming that all dash symbol are the same when they're not.
One is an operator, the other is a sign.

As for hardware calcs, been a long time since I used one, but the last one I had worked the same way as the windows calc.

I know the process is wrong and yes that absolutely was my assumption. I was trying to replicate how the..£#@&&£#...the OP managed to get to 32.

Forcing the assumption of not being aware of the need to use the change sign button and actually finding a calculator that didn't take a ÷ - operation in situ thus needing to actually use the change sign function led me to windows.

Even if you did 53÷3-20-2 you get to -6.33. there is no way to get to 32 unless you press - after ÷ and the calculator shows or calculates a - only. At this point it should have been obvious that 53 divided by +17 or -17 would have been considerably smaller than 36 i.e closer to 3.11 (+17) or -3.11 (-17)

 

[Burnsy2023]

I've said this time and time again, I'd never even heard of BODMAS (or whatever you want to call it) until two or three years ago. We were taught to do brackets first and then work from left to right.

This is a foundation concept, so not being taught it really does make whole swathes of the subject difficult if not impossible to get right.

 

[D3K]

I know the process is wrong and yes that absolutely was my assumption. I was trying to replicate how the..£#@&&£#...the OP managed to get to 32.

Forcing the assumption of not being aware of the need to use the change sign button and actually finding a calculator that didn't take a ÷ - operation in situ thus needing to actually use the change sign function led me to windows.

Even if you did 53÷3-20-2 you get to -6.33. there is no way to get to 32 unless you press - after ÷ and the calculator shows or calculates a - only.

He either did you what did, or read the division sign as a +
Tbf they could be mixed up from a distance...

 

[Scrutinize]

He either did you what did, or read the division sign as a +
Tbf they could be mixed up from a distance...

It's one thing to mess up a +- sign entry to give the wrong answer but I had assumed that to change a ÷ for + took a whole other level of special effort.

Either way a quick mental check of the calc 53 ÷ anything greater than 2 should indicate your final answer is less than 26.5. I suspect even keystage 1&2 would get that far.

At the back of my mind is that this has to be asked on a public forum and it's not even one of those trick questions I.e. -6.33 (if forgetting bodmas). If the OP had said the answer was something closer to 0, I would have understood but to achieve 32 is inversely impressive.

 

[pepp77]

I was always told that it's indices when used in a mathematical/engineering context and indexes elsewhere.

That may well be the case - it has been 23 years since I did any maths learning

 

[Diddums]

It's one thing to mess up a +- sign entry to give the wrong answer but I had assumed that to change a ÷ for + took a whole other level of special effort.

Either way a quick mental check of the calc 53 ÷ anything greater than 2 should indicate your final answer is less than 26.5. I suspect even keystage 1&2 would get that far.

At the back of my mind is that this has to be asked on a public forum and it's not even one of those trick questions I.e. -6.33 (if forgetting bodmas). If the OP had said the answer was something closer to 0, I would have understood but to achieve 32 is inversely impressive.

This was after three days of thisstuff. I am absolutely fed up with maths right now. You try doing the same tedious stuff for 3 days solid and see if it doesn't shut your brain down a bit


Either way, I passed and now need to start prepping for the next module

 

[Luckystrike123]

These maths questions really irrate me. The whole basis is that the creater has not used parentheses correctly/completely so you can get a variety of different answers.

 

[touch]

These maths questions really irrate me. The whole basis is that the creater has not used parentheses correctly/completely so you can get a variety of different answers.

That's not the case.

 

[Maccy]

I am absolutely fed up with maths right now.

I hear you.

 

[dirtychinchilla]

I'm now 34, I earn over £50k a year, live in a £450k flat in the financial capital of the world and supervise a team of 8 engineers, all looking after a £650m building in the square mile for one of the biggest players in the world. I'm doing a degree in engineering, I'm married to a woman many men can only dream of and go on holidays that would put most to shame.


So, what have you achieved in life?

Christ who gives a ****?

Sorry you've had a tough life, boasting about your earnings is just tedious.

-7.12 btw

 

[D3K]

I hear you.

I see what you did there