Maths Question ... : 6÷2(1+2) = ?

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussion' started by *dim*, Oct 5, 2011.

  1. Freddy

    Freddy Miserable git, well known for it

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    When you see 2(1+2), you can think of it in terms of 2 lots of 1+2. Therefore, 2 lots of 1+2= 2 lots of 3, so you end up with 6 divided by 6. The rest is easy :)
     
  2. JWK

    JWK Gardener Staff Member

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    Just the final step is wrong Clare.

    6 divided by 2(3) is the same as:

    6 / 2(3)

    which is:

    6 / 6


    :thumbsup:
     
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    • pete

      pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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      I'll stick with 9 :D
       
    • Val..

      Val.. Confessed snail lover

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      Yes I get the 9 but I still can't get the 1 :scratch:

      Val
       
    • Freddy

      Freddy Miserable git, well known for it

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      How on earth does anyone get 9? :)
       
    • ClaraLou

      ClaraLou Total Gardener

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      In the second form Wednesdays was triple maths followed by double German followed by games followed by more maths. I used to spend all of Tuesday night holding my breath, hoping I'd die if I did so for long enough.
       
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      • ClaraLou

        ClaraLou Total Gardener

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        See Professor JWK's proof. It's 6 divided by 2(3). That's where we went wrong. We need to sit at the back and do raffia work.
         
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        • clueless1

          clueless1 member... yep, that's what I am:)

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          I'm in the '1' camp.

          My logic is this. BODMAS, tells us all about the order of precedence of arithmetical operators.
          Brackets Or Divide, Multiplication, Addition, Subtraction.

          When there are two operators of equal precedence, we evaluate them left to right.

          So in effect, lets look at everything to the right of the divide, ie 2 times 3 = 6. 6 divided by 6 = 1.
           
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          • pete

            pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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            I think it written wrong then.

            It should be written 2(1+2) over 6
             
          • ClaraLou

            ClaraLou Total Gardener

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            :ideaIPB: All the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order.
             
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            • ClaraLou

              ClaraLou Total Gardener

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              Oh God. I can't believe what a meal I'm making of this. Anyway, I have now consulted the oracle further and he says that Pete is right and it's been written down in a rather shabby way to start with - hence the confusion. So we can all blame the maths teacher. :yess: Val, basically you do everything after the division sign first. If you sort that bit out and then divide by 6 you get 1. Off to lie down in a darkened room.
               
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              • Hadeda

                Hadeda Gardener

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                :stirpot::stirpot::stirpot:

                6÷2(1+2)
                6÷2+4
                3+4
                =

                :dancy:7!:dancy:

                *Hides*
                 
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                • Trunky

                  Trunky ...who nose about gardening

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                  Well I'm glad we got that sorted out then. Like I said, it's 1. :D

                  This reminds me of my school days, it used to irritate me no end when maths teachers used to mark me down for getting the answers correct but committing the terrible sin of 'not showing your calculations'. :mad:
                  My argument was always "I got the right answer, does it matter how?"
                  Apparently it did. :(
                   
                • clueless1

                  clueless1 member... yep, that's what I am:)

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                  In my GCSE Maths exam, a question asked something like this:

                  A plane takes off, after travelling 100 metres along the horizontal, it was 30 metres above the ground. If it could have travelled in a straight line, how many metres would that line be?

                  Obviously a trigonometry question, which was my weakness, so I drew the horizontal and vertical lines to scale on a piece of scrap paper, and then used my ruler to measure between the two points, and multiplied it by the scale. I knew I'd lose points for not showing my workings but at least I'll have got somewhere near the right answer:dbgrtmb:

                  I decided to learn how to do maths properly after I'd left school, when I realised my chosen career path in electronics and computing would be seriously hindered if I didn't learn maths. It became all the more necessary when I did a steel fabrication course for a year. If you take a wild guess at how many amps you need to weld a couple bits of metal together, there is a chance you'll blow a hole straight through said bits of metal.
                   
                • miraflores

                  miraflores Total Gardener

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                  I asked a similar question (just different numbers) to a math genius just a couple of months ago and I can therefore give you a pretty certain answer.
                  You do 6/2=3
                  and 3*3=9
                   
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