Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Verburg
That's because it's not there
I agree that there is a lot of controversy but don't see why
people often cite mnemonics like PEMDAS, P - simplify everything inside parenthesis as much as possible, E - exponents, MD - multiply or divide left to right, AS - add or subtract left to right
consistency using different tools/methods is essential
another way to do it is to use the rule that division is the same as multiplication by the inverse
48÷2(9+3) becomes
now do the rest any way you want |
Bill,
The document was there. There are too many references to it to infer that it never was there.
Your last formula makes is fine if you don't use the convention that says multiplication indicated by juxtaposition is carried out before division. This convention is not uncommon or we would not be having this debate.
I am not arguing that the answer is "2". I am arguing that equation is ambiguous and should not be written the way it is. I am arguing that it is easy to see how many people come up with "2" as the answer.
Your position is far too black and white considering the division this equation inspires in the mathematical community.
Scott