this post was submitted on 03 Dec 2023
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[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago (1 children)

The answer is 1, but the logic you've used to get there is a little off. Different groups actually follow different logic, but they usually arrive at the same end-point.

The American Mathematical Society goes:

  • Brackets
  • Indices
  • Multiplication indicated by juxtaposition
  • Regular multiplication and division
  • Addition and subtraction

While the American Physical Society does

  • Brackets
  • Indices
  • Multiplication
  • Division
  • Addition and subtraction

In both cases, addition and subtraction are equal in priority (this solves the problem brought up by a different comment where following primary school BIDMAS would mean 8-4+2=2). In one case (and this is the way I prefer to do it) they solve the problem by declaring that implicit multiplication is done before division, but explicit multiplication with the × sign follows the same rules you would have learnt in primary school. The other says all multiplication is done before division, including explicit multiplication.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

follows the same rules you would have learnt in primary school

It's never that - that's how people are getting the wrong answer. In high school you get taught about The Distributive Law.