Help!

[Luckyone17]

I wanted to know if I did this math problem correctly. It's 6/2(1+2)
i did it like this

6/2(1+2)
(PEMDAS)

P- (1+2) =3

so now the equation is

6/2(3)
(In PEMDAS you do parenthesis exponents multiplication division addition subtraction, but for addition and subtraction or multiplication or division you follow it from left to right in the equation correct? So I did this next)

6/2 = 3(3) = 9

did I do it correctly? Would rather a teachers opinion.

 

[Luckyone17]

Mentally, it looks correct to me, but the correctness of every step didn't translate
completely. Good answer.


To recap:

6/2(1 + 2) =

6/2(3) =

3(3) =

9

Yes that's exactly what I meant. Everything you wrote. Thanks so much. Some people were getting 1 and saying 9 is wrong.

 

[srmichael]

Yes that's exactly what I meant. Everything you wrote. Thanks so much. Some people were getting 1 and saying 9 is wrong.

It would be 1 if it was:

\(\displaystyle \frac{6}{2(1+2)}\)

Is that what the expression is or is it:

\(\displaystyle \frac{6}{2}(1+2)\) in which case the answer is 9.

 

[HallsofIvy]

Different people will give different answers because the notation is ambiguous. 6/2(2+ 1) can be interpreted as (6/2)(2+ 1) or as 6/(2(2+ 1)). Without the added parentheses, there is no "correct" way of interpreting that.

 

[Luckyone17]

It would be 1 if it was:

\(\displaystyle \frac{6}{2(1+2)}\)

Is that what the expression is or is it:

\(\displaystyle \frac{6}{2}(1+2)\) in which case the answer is 9.

The expression was 6 divided by 2 (1+2)
It wasn't a fraction at all I just don't know how to do the division sign on a computer keyboard

 

[Luckyone17]

Different people will give different answers because the notation is ambiguous. 6/2(2+ 1) can be interpreted as (6/2)(2+ 1) or a 6/(2(2+ 1)). Without the added parentheses, there is no "correct" way of interpreting that.

The expression is clear to me though because there are not parentheses over the 2(1+2) if there are parentheses over all of that then the answer would b 1 { 6/[2(1+2)] }. Since its 6/2(1+2) that makes the answer 9. In math there are no interpretations, I always thought it was only one correct answer.

 

[Luckyone17]

Different people will give different answers because the notation is ambiguous. 6/2(2+ 1) can be interpreted as (6/2)(2+ 1) or a 6/(2(2+ 1)). Without the added parentheses, there is no "correct" way of interpreting that.

And also going step by step this is what it is:

6/2(1+2) =

6/2(3) =

3(3) =

9


People who interpret it the other way are doing multiplication first because they believe it's still parentheses when it's not. Do you see how its clearly not in parentheses but just 2(3) ?

 

[HallsofIvy]

Okay, two people have responded, saying this is NOT ambiguous- and each interpreted it in a different way! I stand by my statement.

 

[lookagain]

Okay, two people have responded, saying this is NOT ambiguous-
and each interpreted it in a different way!
Reading back through the posts (other than yours, HallsofIvy),
I see only a unique final output among them, despite them being "interpreted in a different way"
as you claim.



I stand by my statement.

This expression may still be ambiguous, but I don't see the posts from the two people you claim.

In post #3, srmichael asked if it was one of two choices. Neither of those two choices were what
Luckyone17 posted. So srmichael's question was between two false choices.

Then, in post #5, Luckyone17 made a clarification to srmichael.