EPTA Simple Math Problem? - Page 24
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GizmoPT
Portugal3040 Posts
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BitterStriFe
United States89 Posts
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Blisse
Canada3710 Posts
On April 08 2011 07:46 FrozenPanDA wrote: TL makes no sense. 72% say 1/(2*x) and the rest say (1/2)*x let 48 = 1 (9+3) = x 1/(2*x) which is interpreted by 72% of TL... and most of you are saying it is 288? If you do it the way apparently 72% of TL does it. you end up with 2. If you do it the way 28% of TL does it, you end up with 288. It is honestly how you interpret it. This is only an 'amazing' question because it does not give enough information, if it were (48)/(2(9+3)) it would be simple. Obviously OP left those out to see the responses, the polls, and how the internet behaves.. Are you kidding? Look at the numbers that have voted in both polls. And look at how the divisor sign is written in both cases. I'm tired of these people pretending they're amazing and see everything perfectly. Because it's obvious they don't. | ||
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gix_
Germany28 Posts
On April 08 2011 07:37 micronesia wrote: So all those college professors who write 1/2x to mean 1/(2x) are wrong? [...] The point that I tried to make above was that even there it isn't actually written "1/2x", but either "1 / 2x" (often with a larger slash) or "1/2 x" (and both usually only if insufficient vertical space). | ||
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garbanzo
United States4046 Posts
On April 08 2011 07:44 de1irium wrote: http://xkcd.com/169/ How extremely appropriate.  | ||
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jinorazi
Korea (South)4948 Posts
On April 08 2011 07:46 FrozenPanDA wrote: TL makes no sense. 72% say 1/(2*x) and the rest say (1/2)*x let 48 = 1 (9+3) = x 1/(2*x) which is interpreted by 72% of TL... and most of you are saying it is 288? If you do it the way apparently 72% of TL does it. you end up with 2. If you do it the way 28% of TL does it, you end up with 288. It is honestly how you interpret it. This is only an 'amazing' question because it does not give enough information, if it were (48)/(2(9+3)) it would be simple. Obviously OP left those out to see the responses, the polls, and how the internet behaves.. i was confused about that too lol i see 1/2x as 1/(2*x), so i voted 2 for the answer.**as if only 2 can interact with ( ) however the poll shows majority voted for 1/(2*x) yet saw this equation like (1/2)x. i'm no math wiz though, i'm just enjoying my limited pond of knowledge ^^ | ||
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xza
Singapore1600 Posts
48÷2(9+3) = 48/2 (12) which is essentially 48 / 2 * 12 and since multiplication and division are on the same level and can be done from left to right, 48 divide by 2, and the answer of that multiply by 12 therefore ans: 24 * 12 = 288 I learnt this when i was 10 :/ | ||
micronesia
United States24805 Posts
On April 08 2011 07:48 BitterStriFe wrote: I am so confused, I learned this in 8th grade, (currently in 9th). It is 48÷2(9+3)=2 because you do 9+3 first, then you multiply 12 by 2 because multiplication comes before division, then you do 48 divided by 24. Why does it trip so many people up. My suggestion is for you to read the thread. If you read the whole thread and still don't understand then pm me. hint for future: read thread before pointing out how a thread confuses you | ||
BisuDagger
Bisutopia19393 Posts
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Myles
United States5162 Posts
On April 08 2011 07:48 BitterStriFe wrote: I am so confused, I learned this in 8th grade, (currently in 9th). It is 48÷2(9+3)=2 because you do 9+3 first, then you multiply 12 by 2 because multiplication comes before division, then you do 48 divided by 24. Why does it trip so many people up. Multiplication doesn't come before division. You do which ever comes first when reading left to right. | ||
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micronesia
United States24805 Posts
On April 08 2011 07:49 BisuDagger wrote: This was really easy for anyone who knows math. Formatting is definitely not an issue here. I read left to right and follow PEMDAS. It's exactly how a computer works when programming, nothing confusing. I guess colleges give out math, physics, and computer science degrees to people who suck at math like hotcakes! Read the thread and you will see the issue isn't the difficulty of the problem mathematically but the reason WHY formatting is tripping many people up. | ||
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Tabbris
Bangladesh2839 Posts
On April 08 2011 07:48 BitterStriFe wrote: I am so confused, I learned this in 8th grade, (currently in 9th). It is 48÷2(9+3)=2 because you do 9+3 first, then you multiply 12 by 2 because multiplication comes before division, then you do 48 divided by 24. Why does it trip so many people up. Because its not 2. its 288 Read the thread | ||
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Zeke50100
United States2220 Posts
On April 08 2011 07:48 BitterStriFe wrote: I am so confused, I learned this in 8th grade, (currently in 9th). It is 48÷2(9+3)=2 because you do 9+3 first, then you multiply 12 by 2 because multiplication comes before division, then you do 48 divided by 24. Why does it trip so many people up. You're right. Thanks for contributing to that 40%. >_____________< | ||
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GizmoPT
Portugal3040 Posts
On April 08 2011 07:49 BisuDagger wrote: This was really easy for anyone who knows math. Formatting is definitely not an issue here. I read left to right and follow PEMDAS. It's exactly how a computer works when programming, nothing confusing. i know math and i feel its confusing.. thanks | ||
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munchmunch
Canada789 Posts
On April 08 2011 07:49 BisuDagger wrote: This was really easy for anyone who knows math. Formatting is definitely not an issue here. I read left to right and follow PEMDAS. It's exactly how a computer works when programming, nothing confusing. Let me guess, you are a computer programmer, and all math can be done by computer programs, right? | ||
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jcarlson08
United States267 Posts
On April 08 2011 07:43 micronesia wrote: It makes me laugh that you haven't read the thread enough to realize that there are legitimate reasons why people feel like the question can be considered ambiguous. Yes, we know the correct answer according to strict rules of order of operations that we learn in grade school is 288. That's not what people are discussing. Think before you post. I think the context of the OP made it quite clear that the formulae were to be assumed correct as written. Also, in an unrelated note, the people in this thread who think PEMDAS means multiplication comes before division are wrong. Division is simply shorthand for a certain case of multiplication and subtraction is shorthand for a certain case of addition, the operations are really one and the same. | ||
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shabinka
United States469 Posts
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xza
Singapore1600 Posts
a. 2 b. 288 when the graph shows it to be reversed  | ||
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garbanzo
United States4046 Posts
On April 08 2011 07:49 BisuDagger wrote: This was really easy for anyone who knows math. Formatting is definitely not an issue here. I read left to right and follow PEMDAS. It's exactly how a computer works when programming, nothing confusing. Please read the thread. Most of the discussion is about what sort of assumptions and conventions you are used to when you "know math". And if you actually care about readability of your program then you would never, ever, ever write your program the way the original question is formatted. | ||
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billyX333
United States1360 Posts
On April 08 2011 07:46 FrozenPanDA wrote: TL makes no sense. 72% say 1/(2*x) and the rest say (1/2)*x let 48 = 1 (9+3) = x 1/(2*x) which is interpreted by 72% of TL... and most of you are saying it is 288? If you do it the way apparently 72% of TL does it. you end up with 2. If you do it the way 28% of TL does it, you end up with 288. It is honestly how you interpret it. This is only an 'amazing' question because it does not give enough information, if it were (48)/(2(9+3)) it would be simple. Obviously OP left those out to see the responses, the polls, and how the internet behaves.. i'm getting quite tired of people analogizing the ambiguity of 1/2x with 48/2(9+3) because it isnt the same. with 1/2x, the only question is which number is the coefficient. its obviously going to be interpreted as 1/(2x) because no body is going to attempt to convey x/2 as (1/2)x without using brackets | ||
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