Dismiss Notice
Thanks for being a member of our community. Please donate toward site expenses if you can.

Math Riddle: Many can't solve this simple equation ...

Discussion in 'Other Off-Topic Chat' started by pitbull, Aug 5, 2019.

Tags:
?

x = 8/2(2+2)

  1. x = 16

    11 vote(s)
    73.3%

  2. x = 1

    4 vote(s)
    26.7%

  3. None of that because this is an invalid arithmetic expression.

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
Page 2 of 2
  1. Pycckia

    Pycckia Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2015
    Messages:
    18,287
    Likes Received:
    6,064
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    The other way to do it is to perform the function from left to right unless overridden by parenthesis. That is how programming languages do it. That yields the answer 16.
     
    Pycckia, Apr 30, 2020
    #26
  2. modernpaladin

    modernpaladin Well-Known Member Past Donor

    Joined:
    Apr 23, 2017
    Messages:
    27,935
    Likes Received:
    21,245
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    Maybe thats why so many of the programs we use don't work the way we'd expect them to... :phonecall: :wall:
     
    Last edited: Apr 30, 2020
    modernpaladin, Apr 30, 2020
    #27
  3. Conservative Democrat

    Conservative Democrat Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 15, 2020
    Messages:
    2,126
    Likes Received:
    945
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    My arithmetic is a little rusty, but this is how I figured this out. In an equation like this one usually computes from left to right, but what is in the parentheses is computed first. Thus:

    8/2(2 + 2) = 8/2 x 4 = 4 x 4 = 16
     
    Conservative Democrat, Aug 8, 2020
    #28
Page 2 of 2

Share This Page