6 ÷ 2(1+2) = ?

[rubraformica]

The REAL answer is that you should never format an equation like this.

[simpilotadamt]

actually the answer is 1. when brackets are formatted like that, you ALWAYS do the multiplication to expand the brackets BEFORE doing the division. Doing the brackets like that automatically means you do that first as per the rules of BIDMAS.

Source: I studied for GCSE Maths and got a grade 8, I have done A-Level maths and further maths getting grades A* and A respectively, and I'm currently at uni for computer science with a minor in maths.

[lukegiblett]

It's 1 or 9. If you think of it as 6÷2×(1+2) then it's 9.
However when it's set out like 6÷2(1+2) then it's 1 since the 2 is connected to the (1+2) so it's 6÷ (2(2+1)). It really depends on whether you are using basic math principles or an algebraic approach. Being a math teacher we generally don't set questions out like this because of this confusion.

[Skelerow]

Actually he is wrong, he forgot distributive property and that Parentheses are before going left to right

[patricklee]

6/2(3). Solve that. Because that’s exactly what the equation is after you add the numbers within the bracket.

[eklypzn]

When the quiz master failed algebra...

[dannyshacklebolt]

Why it's not written as 6 over 2(1+2) is beyond me, that would fully clear the answer up as 1. If you want to write it as 6(1+2) over 2 that's a completely different equation

[georgegeorges]

Brother said 9 so confidently…. I lost brain cells from that

[Brian.o]

PEMDAS, Please excuse my dear aunt sally. Learned it in 6th grade, for life

[Choju]

Yeah but it's 1 tho... Distributive property. 6 ÷ 2(1+2) is NOT the same as 6 ÷ 2 × (1+2)

[elfnino]

You add the 1 and the 2, then multiply it by 2, then divide that by 6. So you get 3x2= 6÷6 = 1

[TheClutchMexican]

So after some research every math person is saying this is a poorly written expression and they would never write a problem like this because it leaves too much ambiguity on how to solve it, for example division can be seen as a fraction so you can see it as 6 as a numerator and 2(1+2) as the denominator, there's also the option on using the distributive property where you distribute the 2 outside the parentheses etc etc, you can argue both sides end of the day this is a poorly written expression and no math teacher or engineer or etc would ever write a stupid ass problem like this and expect only one "correct" answer since they left so much ambiguity math is meant to be direct and to leave out ambiguous interpretations

[jongkim]

had 800 on my SATmath 18yrs ago and i thought it was 7

[jacknoyes]

1 Is correct due to order of operations
( ) parentheses
x² powers
× and ÷
+ and -
if equal in the order of operations then it is left to right

[newdlz]

But the 2 is touching the parenthesis, in some schools of math they teach that if a number in parenthesis is involved than you do it first

[nicrenzi]

He’s wrong PEMDAS multiplication before division and parentheses supersedes both multiplication and division. The answer is 1

[furyjaguar]

From historical perspective (1917) which was taught during the time to teach these equations; they do 2(3)=9 first and do not convert this to 2 x 3 = 9 first— which is the modern standard rn. Except... They still teach you the 1917 way in modern engineering schools. Also this will never come in engineering problems since using fractions makes the whole thing a lot more clearer. I hope this made sense

So both of the answers are kinda correct depends on the perspective ig.

[p.s.m]

Things inside or directly outside parentheses are done first, so 1 is correct. 9 would be the answer if the 3(2+1) was instead written as 3*(2+1).

[gritted]

the issue is that in algebra they always format our equations like this… so I’ve got answers wrong by doing it the way the teacher didn’t choose to.

[pastelmusic]

HOW IN THE MINIONS BANNA WORLD OF CHOCOLATE HOT FUDGE DID U GET 9