Music Banter - View Single Post - 6/2*(1+2)=?
Thread: 6/2*(1+2)=?
View Single Post
Old 04-29-2011, 02:27 PM   #40 (permalink)
MoonlitSunshine
Dat's Der Bunny!
 
MoonlitSunshine's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Ireland
Posts: 1,088
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by storymilo View Post
I have a Texas Instruments too (a graphing one) and it gave me nine. Even our calculators are different...



I suppose if you were to look at the equation with all different orders in mind, it would be ambiguous. When you pick just one, it has a clearly defined answer. As it's presented, without any extra parentheses, the only way to solve it is to use an order of operations. So that's what I did.
"pick one" is not a solution. If you have a equation x + y = 5, you can't just "pick a y" and then assume your answer for x is correct. You need more information, namely a value for y, or in the case of this thread, extra parentheses to define whether the * or the / should be done first.
__________________
"I found it eventually, at the bottom of a locker in a disused laboratory, with a sign on the door saying "Beware of the Leopard". Ever thought of going into Advertising?"

- Arthur Dent
MoonlitSunshine is offline