4 ms·
But this makes almost everybody wrong. Going by this, you would evaluate 6x ÷ 2x to 3(x^2) rather than 3. That is clearly not the intention, so somebody is wron
by chc 15y ago
But this makes almost everybody wrong. Going by this, you would evaluate 6x ÷ 2x to 3(x^2) rather than 3. That is clearly not the intention, so somebody is wrong here, but it's a matter of opinion whether it's the writer (for not precisely following standard notation) or the standard notation (for being counterintuitive) that deserves the blame.
- droithomme 15y agoYes, this is correct and is the reason why I set implicit multiplication to a higher precedence in the calculators I've written. Obviously not everyone agrees though, but it's certainly the way it's always been interpreted in written algebra textbooks. Precedence rules are essentially arbitrary. We have to make them up. Going by most common historical use is a reasonable choice.