Quote:
Originally Posted by winders
Did the person writing the equation mean "1/2 of x" or "1 divided by 2x"?
Look at the links I provided.....
Scott
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I have read your links and agree w/ everything stated in them, nevertheless we have pinpointed your lack of understanding
you seem to feel incorrectly that 1/2*3 has different rules from 1/2x
they are identical in form and function
as you so clearly stated 'By convention, division and multiplication have equal precedence. By convention, you start at the left.'
so in both expressions first 1 is divided by 2 to give the result .5 then that result is multiplied by the next operand which is 3 in the first example and x in the second.
or if you prefer to work w/ rational expressions instead of decimal
and
Math has rules that must be consistently followed or you get erroneous reslts.