1,815
edits
Changes
{{multiple image
<!-- Layout parameters -->
}}
'''6÷2(1+2)=?''' is the pre-algebra question that a majority of respondents seem to get wrong. If you are in the camp that knows the correct answer is 1, read no further. If you believe the answer is 9, you should probably review this document. (There -- there is only one number that 6 can be divided by to result in 9, and that number is 2/3.)
==Processing rules==
In the majority of incorrect proofs, the respondent will cite PEMDAS or BODMAS, however these solvers incorrectly resolve the [P]arentheses or [B]rackets of PEMDAS - BODMAS, ignoring the Distributive Law. For some reason, they believe that they can solve within the parentheses, but ignore the adjacent and dependent coefficient.
::'''''Distributive law''''', ''in mathematics, the law relating the operations of multiplication and addition, stated symbolically, a(b + c) = ab + ac; that is, the monomial factor a is distributed, or separately applied, to each term of the binomial factor b + c, resulting in the product ab + ac.''
I realized that shorthand parenthetical notation could become a problem when I was taking a 'C' programming course in college. Unfortunately, we are still using code that was written for computers that had severe memory limitations.
Unlike humans, mathematics modules do not look ahead to identify a parenthetical expression embedded within an equation. In the 'C' language, to process our given equation , we need explicit operators adjacent to the first parenthesis; additionally, we must maintain the grouping of our function(s).''Still to this day, many programming languages / spreadsheets cannot process a parenthetical expression without an explicit operator.''
'''6÷2(1+2) == 6÷(2*(1+2))'''