Exactly! Left to right doesnt work because of order of operations () then multiplication/division, then adding/subtracting. depending on whats being used determines the starting point. 1+1x6/2 as an example. You cant do that left to right because the multiplication/division comes first due to order of operations.

 

But then your saying that the equation could also be written like:

48*(9+3)
________
2

288 is wrong

48 / 2(9+3)

2(9+3) you have to times the 2 by 12 because it is part of the bracket.
if it wasn't it would be written like 2*(9+3), but it is not written like that.

insert an x for any number on the left side of the equation below and see if you get x = that number in the end.
It will not because it is wrong.
But do it with 2 and you will get it everytime.

48 / 2(9+3)=288

I am sitting in a office of 10 engineers and only one said it was 288 (and he is getting harrassed right now lol).

 

The 48/2 is in parenthesis, so no, I am not saying it could be written like that.

 

this one has tickled me - i posed the problem to 8 other engineers in my office and got these answers:

288 [none]
2 [7]
well that's poorly written [1]

i've also emailed the question to my dad, who in fact is a rocket scientist, and for me, his answer will be law.

 

Jeff, you may be right. I first thought it was 2, then said to myself its unclear. But yeah, that 2 is part of the parentheses. 2 is right.

Its still not perfectly clear. I would never enter it as is in any computing program.


Side note: I'm also an engineer, seems like there are a good number of us here.

 

Hey guy, ultimate fail.....

 

So off this site we have:
16 engineers saying 2
1 Co-op student said it was 288 (who realized he was wrong)
and alot of people saying thats poorly written.

 

Looks like a bunch of us have forgot the rules of FOIL! as this one has us foiled for sure!

Personally, I always thought it was a silly rule...being mathematically dyslexic never helped me with it either.

I don't remember for sure how...but i know it is possible through proofs to "prove" that 0=1. thank you to my favorite math teacher for that one!

 

*****. guys the answer would be 2 if it was written like this : 48÷[2(9+3)] = 2

However, it is NOT and thus you must compute the numbers within the parentheses first, and then use order of operations from left to right to find the solution:

1. (9+3) = (12)
2. 48 / 2 = 24
3. 24 X (12) = 288

Why would you multiply 2(12) first when order of operations dictates that you must go from left to right when division and multiplication are on equal terms? There is no imaginary bracket that tells you to multiply 2(12) before dividing 48 by 2 first. Like I said, some of you are reading the question like this:

48 / [ 2 ( 12 ) ] = 2

even though it is written like this:

48 / 2 X 12 = 288

 

[QUOTE=jeffjones;
2(9+3) you have to times the 2 by 12 because it is part of the bracket.
if it wasn't it would be written like 2*(9+3), but it is not written like that.
.[/QUOTE]

That is COMPLETELY incorrect.

If it were part of a bracket there would be a bracket around it, but there isn't!