discussion ATRL: I have a math emergency: 6÷2(1+2)=?

[Scandalous]

30 minutes ago, dumbsparce said:

 

but here's the confusing thing: phones don't have the division symbol on keyboard anymore, so you should be able to substitute it with a '/' , but when you plug it in that way, it shows the answer as 1

[Bloo]

1 hour ago, Scandalous said:

but here's the confusing thing: phones don't have the division symbol on keyboard anymore, so you should be able to substitute it with a '/' , but when you plug it in that way, it shows the answer as 1

The answer is 9. If it were written as 6 / (2(1+2)), then it would be 1.

 

These gotcha math problems are always just getting people to disagree as to whether there is a set of parentheses that are not explicitly written there—because many infer it because of people seeing the "/" as a fraction with everything to the right as underneath what's to the left. 

[Sazare]

It's 9 but people who act smug over what basically amounts to PEMDAS semantics are infinitely dumber than anyone who says the answer is 1

[byzantium]

The answer is 9.  
 

the same problem could be written in a less confusing manner though

 

6 x (1/2) x (1+2)

[ChooseyLover]

9 

[terrorblade]

 

[Almodusa]

9

[єѕℓαм]

Gurl i didn't sign up to this site for math tf

[MerveAksak]

First the parenthesis. After that we're left with 6\2x3 which is 9.

[IsidoraMarí]

It baffles me that we all have calculators and google but people still get the wrong answer and argue about it online...

[katykater]

Math is about well defined rules/conventions.

 

 

If ÷ means / then

 

6/2(1+2) = 6/2*3 = 3*3 = 9

 

 

If ÷ means _____________ because of historical usage in old textbooks then the outdated answer would be

 

6

_______ = 1

2(1+2)

 

 

 

Using ÷ as a symbol for division is widespread in the Anglophone countries:

 

Quote

The form of the obelus as a horizontal line with a dot above and a dot below, ÷, was first used as a symbol for division by the Swiss mathematician Johann Rahn in his book Teutsche Algebra in 1659. This gave rise to the modern mathematical symbol ÷, used in anglophone countries as a division sign.^[17][18] This usage, though widespread in Anglophone countries, is neither universal nor recommended: the ISO 80000-2 standard for mathematical notation recommends only the solidus / or fraction bar for division, or the colon : for ratios; it says that ÷ "should not be used" for division.^[19]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obelus#In_mathematics

Globally it is recommended to use / or fraction bar for division.

 

Different interpretation can happen because of old textbooks or you live in a country where they don't use ÷

[MerveAksak]

I know some people tend to go from right the left after solving the parenthesis. But if you're left with a division and a multiplication, you should go from left to right. So the answer is 9.

[flame_notturno]

6÷2(1+2)=

6÷2•3=

3•3=9

 

Ladies get back to primary school.

First the parentheses 

Then from left to right x/÷

Then from left to right +/-

When there is no symbol before a parenthesis it's meant to be •.

[NEUTRON]

anything other than 9... I'm praying for you and the people who taught you. 

Edited November 1 by NEUTRON

[Iceland]

Well it's a tie

[toast]

The only right answer is that this is a poorly written equation

[tjspy]

I'm glad people are umderstanding its 9 cause help with the equation misleading reading in the first pages.

 

Not people saying that 2(3) needs to be done fisrt because of the ()? Girl, its already done, its a 3 inside, you now kill the () and replace it by 2*3 and do the fisrt part of the equation. 

[Adam’s Eve]

Girl I failed Math and even I knew it was 9 before entering the thread 

[Prisoner]

**** the division symbol is the right answer

[l3disko]

PEMDAS says you do multiplication first and then division, in order

 

• P: Parentheses
• E: Exponents
• M: Multiplication
• D: Division
• A: Addition
• S: Subtraction 

 

 

No clue where this "go left to right to do division first and then multiplication" rule came from. Never heard of it.

 

anyways the correct answer is winning currently aka 1 

 

 

Edited November 2 by l3disko

[Joyride]

I can't swim

[FailSafe]

 

 

[Chris]

Oh lord.

 

Not this again.

 

Last time we had one of these threads on ATRL, it was World War 3 on here.

 

 

Can someone find that thread?

[KahnumDash]

atrl is SPLIT 50/50 between 9 and 1, i'm petrified

[Mountain_Aardvark]

On 10/28/2024 at 2:44 AM, Sawk said:

It's both 9 and 1, depending how you view it.

The issue is the formatting of the equation.

 

6÷2(1+2) seems fairly easy. 
 

(1+2)=3, so we get 6÷2(3)

 

According to PEMDAS, the order of operations is Parentheses, Exponent, Multiplication or Division, Addition or Subtraction.
 

PEMDAS operates from left to right, so for some, that would mean dividing 6 by 2 and getting 3 which then multiplies by 3 and gives you 9.

 

For people who resort to multiplying whatever is next to the parentheses as part of the P, the answer then becomes 2 times 3, which gives you 6 and then you can divide by 6 and get 1. 
 

There isn't a correct answer with the horrible formatting of this problem by the way.  
 

After elementary, using this ÷ symbol is a joke, any division should be expressed as a fraction rather than using ÷. 
 

If this were formatted to match actual practical mathematic problems, it would look like this:

 

6

—

2(1+2)

 

in this case, the answer is obviously 1, but when you use this cursed ÷ sh*t, you're losing vital information which leads to these debates. 

 

Or this:

 

6

___ * (1 + 2) = 9

2