# 48÷2(9+3) = ??????



## saintforlife (May 21, 2008)

What is the correct answer?

A3 content: All A3 owners on this forum have at least been to high school and most of them are mathematastical geniuses. So they should be able to solve this easily.


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## pjunk1 (May 13, 2010)

2


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## pjunk1 (May 13, 2010)

the question is, why?


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## NYCameron (Nov 17, 2010)

2


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## TechnikSLR (Jul 30, 2008)

saintforlife said:


> What is the correct answer?
> 
> A3 content: All A3 owners on this forum ARE ASIAN and most of them are mathematastical geniuses. So they should be able to solve this easily.


fixed


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## grubble (Oct 28, 2007)

Solve for x : ab(c + d)x − e + f = 0

I have no idea what the point of this post is other than to point out your grammatical weaknesses in spelling "mathematical" as "mathematastical".


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## LWNY (Jul 30, 2008)

x = e - f / ab(c+d)


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## lotuselan (Apr 9, 2008)

42


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## drew138 (Dec 3, 2006)

The thread on the forum where this mess started is beyond hilarious.

=2


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## yannick3133 (Nov 16, 2010)

A3=epic


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## Machnickiⓐⓤⓓⓘ (May 14, 2008)

Where is this funny thread you speak of?


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## TBomb (Sep 23, 2009)

Machnickiⓐⓤⓓⓘ;70950506 said:


> Where is this funny thread you speak of?



Yes, do tell


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## drew138 (Dec 3, 2006)

Warning: This has the potential to kill the rest of your afternoon. You will be dumber for clicking this link. And even dumber if you spend more than 10 minutes looking at it.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=133389973


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## saintforlife (May 21, 2008)




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## rawaudi (May 15, 2010)

A3 content: All A3 owners on this forum ARE ASIAN and most of them are mathematastical geniuses. So they should be able to solve this easily.
TechnikSLR;70949256 said:


> fixed


Given the names that are appearing in my paypal account, I must agree with this statement. :laugh: True statement though


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## NYCameron (Nov 17, 2010)

saintforlife said:


>


I did that and got the same answer...but if elementary school mathematics teaches us anything, it's:

Parenthesis
Exponent
Multiplication
Division
Addition
Subtraction

48÷2(9+3)

Parenthesis: (9+3) = 12
Multiplication: 2 * 12 = 24
Division: 48 ÷ 24 = 2

what's going on here?!


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## rawaudi (May 15, 2010)

Come one people:

*P*lease *E*xcuse *M*y *D*ear *A*unt *S*ally


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## saintforlife (May 21, 2008)

drew138 said:


> The thread on the forum where this mess started is beyond hilarious.
> =2


Here's another epic one:

http://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/p/25449012/48293--.aspx


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## TBomb (Sep 23, 2009)

288 = (48/2)(9+3)
2 = 48/2(9+3)

I'm not sure why Excel calculates it like it does, but when you type "48/2(9+3)" into Google calculator it returns it as "(48/2)*(9+3) = 288". I'm with the PEMDAS guys and my initial mental calculation came up with 2, but I didn't want to say anything because this is a trap :laugh:


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## saintforlife (May 21, 2008)

Why not *219*?

48÷2=24
24*9=216
216+3=219

Q.E.D. - all these brackets and rules just confuse things - just read it from left to right. Unless you are Arabic then the answer is 0.5


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## BrandonF (Mar 16, 2010)

I just plugged that formula into excel and i got 288

if you want to get 2 then...

48/(2*(9+3))
=
2


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## rawaudi (May 15, 2010)

excel calculates the order of operations from left to right. So if you do not add the second set of brackets then it divides first.

You have to think of it like this:

48
_________
2*(9+3)


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## inertpyro (Oct 4, 2007)

Wolfram Alpha says 288










http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=48÷2(9+3)


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## rawaudi (May 15, 2010)

This is just a poor expression. 
Just google it; this is highly debated.

Depends if you want 48 /{2(9+3)}

or

(48/2)*(9+3)

Which is it. You tell me......

Even the math and physics forums cant decide:
http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=488334

Im sticking with 2.


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## inertpyro (Oct 4, 2007)

rawaudi said:


> This is just a poor expression.
> Just google it; this is highly debated.
> 
> Depends if you want 48 /{2(9+3)}
> ...


I personally think 2 as well but I just wanted to add a nether reputable source to the mix.


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## saintforlife (May 21, 2008)




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## inertpyro (Oct 4, 2007)

saintforlife said:


>


And so the plot thickens...


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## pjunk1 (May 13, 2010)

i'd like to change my wrong answer(2) to 288.


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## tyrone.minton (Aug 2, 2010)

so, there's an airplane. its on a treadmill. if the treadmill spins at the same but opposite speed as the airplane requires to take off, will the airplane in fact, take off?

Ponder amongst yourselves!










(Yes, I know the answer, and yes I know this has floated around the interwebs before, I'm just stirring the pot!)

And to answer the OP, there's a reason Mathematical Order of Operations was invented, and that's to save us knowledgeable people from the rest of the idiots in the world!


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## MisterJJ (Jul 28, 2005)

The squirrel is running around the tree and being chased by a man, who is further away from the tree than the squirrel. If you picture rings, the tree is in the center, and the squirrel is running around the innermost ring, followed by the man on the outermost ring? Does the man go around the squirrel?


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## SilverSquirrel (Jul 24, 2006)

MisterJJ said:


> The squirrel is running around the tree and being chased by a man, who is further away from the tree than the squirrel. If you picture rings, the tree is in the center, and the squirrel is running around the innermost ring, followed by the man on the outermost ring? Does the man go around the squirrel?


what?

i vote to lock this thread before it gets too carried away:screwy:


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## Gbeav (Jun 12, 2010)

288


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## tony a3 (Jul 31, 2010)

Answer=


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## Bezor (Jan 16, 2007)

tony a3 said:


> Answer=


Always the right answer. 

But you didn't show your work.


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## NYCameron (Nov 17, 2010)

canz92 said:


>


mad HAXX yo


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## azoceanblue (Aug 13, 2006)

rawaudi said:


> Come one people:
> 
> *P*lease *E*xcuse *M*y *D*ear *A*unt *S*ally





TBomb said:


> 288 = (48/2)(9+3)
> 2 = 48/2(9+3)
> 
> I'm not sure why Excel calculates it like it does, but when you type "48/2(9+3)" into Google calculator it returns it as "(48/2)*(9+3) = 288". I'm with the PEMDAS guys and my initial mental calculation came up with 2, but I didn't want to say anything because this is a trap :laugh:


No trap.

1) P - Parentheses
2) E - Exponents ( Powers and Square Roots )
3) MD - Multiplication and Division ( Left to Right )
4) AS - Addition and Subtraction ( Left to Right )

The answer is 288. 

Following PEMDAS the answer is calculated as follows:

48/2(9+3) - Parentheses, no Exponents.
48/2(12) - Division first, following the left to right rule.
24(12) - Then Multiplication, 2(12) is not done first and should be read as 2 * 12.
288.

That is my answer and I am sticking to it 

My initial answer was 2, until I googled PEMDAS. This is a great question, thanks OP.


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## The Sage (Jul 30, 2004)

Myself and 'The Oracle' Aka Google say the answer is 288


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## smartdude24 (Dec 6, 2007)

*B*rackets
*E*xponents
*D*ivision
*M*ultiplication
*A*ddition
*S*ubtraction

the answer is 288.


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## rawaudi (May 15, 2010)

smartdude24 said:


> *B*rackets
> *E*xponents
> *D*ivision
> *M*ultiplication
> ...


Given your username there is no way I can refute your answer.

288 it is


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## rawaudi (May 15, 2010)

Quit being posers.

Take Harvard's 1898 entrance exam:

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/education/harvardexam.pdf

and no, there are no stupid trick order of operations questions on it!


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## Tcardio (Mar 19, 2009)

Let's post a hand raise.... Anyone who spent more than 5 minutes on this equation did not get laid on the day they posted to the thread


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## LWNY (Jul 30, 2008)

without putting a "*" next to the 2, it is implied that the 2 is glued to (9+3), hence it taking precedence.


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## drew138 (Dec 3, 2006)

canz92 said:


>


We have a winner!


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## Kriminal (Jul 3, 2007)

I'll go with 288 as it seems to be the majority vote, and will save me wasting any more minutes off my life


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## MisterJJ (Jul 28, 2005)

I see the problem as the following:

48
-------- = 2
2(9+3)

My Casio graphing calculator agrees with me.

I've gone as far as Advanced Calculus II. I have a BSME and an MBA.... Which means I'm probably wrong.


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## x SMURF x (Sep 12, 2010)

MisterJJ said:


> I see the problem as the following:
> 
> 48
> -------- = 2
> ...


yeah thats how i see it also, and so did my stat teacher, who teaches a range of math courses at my college


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## NYCameron (Nov 17, 2010)

x SMURF x said:


> yeah thats how i see it also, and so did my stat teacher, who teaches a range of math courses at my college


where do you go to school? (not doubting, just curious)


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## TBomb (Sep 23, 2009)

LWNY said:


> without putting a "*" next to the 2, it is implied that the 2 is glued to (9+3), hence it taking precedence.


Yep. If it were 48 / 2 * (9+3) then it would be 48 / 2 * 12 = 24 * 12 = 288

Since it is 48 / 2(9+3) then it is 48 / 24 = 2


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## x SMURF x (Sep 12, 2010)

NYCameron said:


> where do you go to school? (not doubting, just curious)


well last year i _was_ at Drexel university in philly studying engineering, then realized it really wasn't what i wanted to do, i didn't realize this in time to transfer to another 4-5 year college so i am currently attending nassau community college, hopefully transfering to either northeastern university, or if not, suny buff


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## LWNY (Jul 30, 2008)

TBomb said:


> Yep. If it were 48 / 2 * (9+3) then it would be 48 / 2 * 12 = 24 * 12 = 288
> 
> Since it is 48 / 2(9+3) then it is 48 / 24 = 2


I think the proximity thing (only applies to multiplication) takes precedence over parenthesis and division. But exponential likely precedes it.

Its like what's abc/d? Everybody is going to assume it is just 

abc
------
d

written in one line, meaning (abc)/d.

As for abc^2, I have to say everybody will assume it is a*b*c^2, given the widespread formula e=mc^2


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## x SMURF x (Sep 12, 2010)

i figured it out

what we are* ALL* forgetting, is that yes pemdas comes into play:

when you have *division AND multiplication in the same step, you go left to right*, there for when you get 48/2(12) you would divide 48 by 2 then multiply by 12, giving you 288

http://www.mathsisfun.com/operation-order-pemdas.html

math is fun...more like annoying.


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## pjunk1 (May 13, 2010)

not this again...


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## x SMURF x (Sep 12, 2010)

pjunk1 said:


> not this again...


:laugh:

in reality there can be 2 answer. it is just poorly written, its all about the implied mult or explicit mult of the 2(9+3) or 48/2 respectivily


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## LWNY (Jul 30, 2008)

why does planet math say Multifry before divide?

http://planetmath.org/?op=getobj&from=objects&id=3951


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## hellapinoy (Apr 25, 2011)

x SMURF x said:


> i figured it out
> 
> what we are* ALL* forgetting, is that yes pemdas comes into play:
> 
> ...


Peeps cant read or spell. Its pemdas so that would be multiplication AND division. Since they are both first order, you go left to right and get 288. Where the hell didyou come up with division and subtraction:facepalm:


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## x SMURF x (Sep 12, 2010)

hellapinoy said:


> Peeps cant read or spell. Its pemdas so that would be multiplication AND division. Since they are both first order, you go left to right and get 288. Where the hell didyou come up with division and subtraction:facepalm:


lol, non-sober foruming posting WILL cause that...


and fixed:thumbup:


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## pjunk1 (May 13, 2010)

uh oh...it's starting again. haha!


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