196

16436 readers

3231 users here now

Be sure to follow the rule before you head out.

Rule: You must post before you leave.

^other^ ^rules^

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

417

Glitch in the matrix (ani.social)

submitted 11 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

575 comments fedilink hide all child comments

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

The problem is that the way PEMDAS is usually taught multiplication and division are supposed to have equal precedence. The acronym makes it look like multiplication comes before division, but you're supposed to read MD and as one step. (The same goes for addition and subtraction so AS is also supposed to be one step.) It this example the division is left of the multiplication so because they have equal precedence (according to PEMDAS) the division applies first.

IMO it's bad acronym design. It would be easier if multiplication did come before division because that is how everyone intuitively reads the acronym.

Maybe it should be PE(M/D)(A/S). But that version is tricky to pronounce. Or maybe there shouldn't be an acronym at all.

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

but you’re supposed to read MD and as one step

You can do them in any order at all - M then D, D then M (hence the acronym BEDMAS), or all in one - what does matter is not treating Distribution as though it's Multiplication (which refers literally to multiplication signs), when in actual fact it's the first step in solving Brackets.