EPTA Simple Math Problem? - Page 50
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sikyon
Canada1045 Posts
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LloydRays
United States306 Posts
On April 08 2011 12:34 JinDesu wrote: Here is the big part. I was never explicitly taught that A/BC when written where the A is above the BC is actually A/(BC). If this was explicitly taught in every school to everyone, a lot fewer people here would be saying 2. Whether you use the division sign is irrelevant. Using the division sign and using the fraction symbol matters in the way you understand it. When I first did the thing, I got 2. Then I looked back at it and understood what I did wrong. This thread isn't about calling people stupid. It's about helping people understand what they were taught wasn't completely correct. Or in the case of people saying PEMDAS and then putting multiplication higher than division, that they were taught completely wrong. Fo sho, fo sho, everyone learned it a different way. One more reason to unite, prosper, and explore the cosmos together  | ||
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Phanekim
United States777 Posts
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jtan
Sweden5891 Posts
On April 08 2011 12:37 LloydRays wrote: Fo sho, fo sho, everyone learned it a different way. One more reason to unite, prosper, and explore the cosmos together Best post in this thread so far  | ||
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Djzapz
Canada10681 Posts
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DarkPlasmaBall
United States46524 Posts
Well... and one of my friends posted "Over 9000!", but yeah. (I used the proper division symbol too ( ÷ ), not the " / ".) This is both hilarious and sad at the same time. | ||
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iNSiPiD1
United States140 Posts
On April 08 2011 09:47 bootbootcar wrote: Kind of OT, but I've always been wondering, what kind of papers do Math majors write? Don't most mathematical facts already have proofs? Basically the paper I had to write for my bachelors contained very little original work. I mainly studied a topic called Exterior Algebra and just wrote a paper about that topic. I solved some problems that were posed in textbooks, and analyzed how the algebra could be used to reduce the four Maxwell-Boltzmann equations down to just two, namely da=0 and *d*a=0 where a is the unified electromagnetic field equation in terms of 1 and 2-forms. Also * represents the Hodge Star operator, or dual, and the d represents the exterior derivative. So yeah, there is a lot a math major can write about, but you are correct in saying that many mathematical facts already have proofs. However we newbies need to study these proofs and methods so that we can one day apply those techniques, and maybe even our own, to the currently unsolved problems. | ||
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StarStruck
25339 Posts
On April 08 2011 12:20 LloydRays wrote: The original problem is a kind of "hahaha i got you! trololol" idiotic game that is designed to trap unsuspecting people by phrasing with unreasonably convoluted rules. This is why most people don't learn in school because we don't see the point when there will never be a situation where someone hands you such a problem that is written so poorly considering the division sign isn't used after fractions are introduced. I guess it makes some unsocial people feel better about how they have wasted their time and make them think that they waste it better than other people who would rather waste time say, playing starcraft, or going for a walk etc. I don't see it as a trap. You actually learn a shit ton in school and you apply these basic principles unconsciously. These situations manifest themselves in different ways. Yes, your employer will never hand you a problem that is written like this. As you said, once fractions are introduced the division sign becomes obsolete. Cannot blame you guys for extending your knowledge in computer science, math, etc. As a result, you tend to forget lots of the trivial shit. In fact, most of the shit you learn in university goes right out the window after a number of years unless you are a scholar or active practitioner in the field and even then brain farts will arise as you move into a specialty. It certainly did for me. As for your second paragraph. I sense a lot of hate and there is no reason to attack others. Whatever floats your boat. Your perception is different from mine. Just like how you might have came up with 2 and I came up with 288. In my opinion this thread is filled with hilarity and some insightful discussion on the wonderful world of mathematics. I like hearing how others interpreted the question. Math truly is a wonderful language. It's all about perception mingled in with experience. | ||
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xxpack09
United States2160 Posts
An interesting "trick" question that really isn't a trick at all | ||
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Javadocs
United States60 Posts
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Severedevil
United States4839 Posts
On April 08 2011 12:53 xxpack09 wrote: PEMDAS/BEDMAS works from left to right. People tend to forget this. Fourth-grade mnemonics do not reflect the usage of operators in any real mathematical context. You might as well tell me that five divided by two is equal to two remainder one. | ||
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ZpuX
Sweden1230 Posts
On April 08 2011 12:28 Barrin wrote: No. That is doing multiplication before parenthesis. No, that's not where he goes wrong. The problem is he's not doing it in the right order. 48/2 = 24, 24*(3+9) = 24*3+24*9 = 288. I guess the "parentheses rule" is just to make it easier to remember, so that people dont accidentally do 24*3 + 9. | ||
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StarStruck
25339 Posts
On April 08 2011 12:58 Severedevil wrote: Fourth-grade mnemonics do not reflect the usage of operators in any real mathematical context. You might as well tell me that five divided by two is equal to two remainder one. Yes; however, it does teach children how to divide without the use of a calculator. They want you to be quick on your feet! :D | ||
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MadVillain
United States402 Posts
Simply put, if the question was written in a way that you would find it in a text book, i.e. (48/2) * (9+3) , than nobody would actually get it wrong. Hell if it was written like 48/2 * (9+3) than I don't think anybody would get it wrong. TLDR: TL knows the order of operations i'm confident of that! | ||
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xxpack09
United States2160 Posts
On April 08 2011 12:58 Severedevil wrote: Fourth-grade mnemonics do not reflect the usage of operators in any real mathematical context. You might as well tell me that five divided by two is equal to two remainder one. Except these "fourth-grade mnemonics" are correct in all situations.... They describe how to interpret symbols and operations in the correct manner. So no, that's a bad analogy. "Remainders" are informal whereas the order in which mathematical operations are carried out is as formal as it gets | ||
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-{Cake}-
United States217 Posts
On April 08 2011 13:08 xxpack09 wrote: Except these "fourth-grade mnemonics" are correct in all situations.... They describe how to interpret symbols and operations in the correct manner. So no, that's a bad analogy. "Remainders" are informal whereas the order in which mathematical operations are carried out is as formal as it gets It was only one page ago =/ On April 08 2011 12:36 shinosai wrote: Apparently he has something to say about the math problem in the op (quote is slightly edited because certain symbols don't work in TL) | ||
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Cutlery
Norway565 Posts
At first glance I read it as a fraction, not as an operator. And no, this does not make me stupid, I'm used to fractions when I do math on paper. My calculator actually also reads it as a fraction when the * sign is missing between 2 and the parenthesis. I think some people didn't see this was a poll and mistook it for a quiz. | ||
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Elite00fm
United States548 Posts
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LloydRays
United States306 Posts
On April 08 2011 12:50 StarStruck wrote: I don't see it as a trap. You actually learn a shit ton in school and you apply these basic principles unconsciously. These situations manifest themselves in different ways. Yes, your employer will never hand you a problem that is written like this. As you said, once fractions are introduced the division sign becomes obsolete. Cannot blame you guys for extending your knowledge in computer science, math, etc. As a result, you tend to forget lots of the trivial shit. In fact, most of the shit you learn in university goes right out the window after a number of years unless you are a scholar or active practitioner in the field and even then brain farts will arise as you move into a specialty. It certainly did for me. As for your second paragraph. I sense a lot of hate and there is no reason to attack others. Whatever floats your boat. Your perception is different from mine. Just like how you might have came up with 2 and I came up with 288. In my opinion this thread is filled with hilarity and some insightful discussion on the wonderful world of mathematics. I like hearing how others interpreted the question. Math truly is a wonderful language. It's all about perception mingled in with experience. i said 2 so yeah i was mad | ||
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EEhantiming
Canada519 Posts
48÷2(9+3) 48÷2(12) 48÷24=2 calculator also got 2 from wolframalpha.com ![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/YnUge.jpg) | ||
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