Presuming PEMDAS is our order of operations and the 5 next to the parentheses indicates multiplication…
2+5(8-5) -> 2+5(3) -> 2+15=17
Other than adding a multiplication indicator next to the left parentheses for clarification (I believe it’s * for programming and text chat purposes, a miniature “x” or dot for pen and paper/traditional calculators), this seems fine, yeah.
…I worry about how many people may not understand how to solve equations like these.
Some forms of programming syntax, although there are the fringe cases where an equation (or function in programming) is represented by a symbol in conjunction with a parentheses input.
For example:
y(x) = 2*x+3
5+y(1) = 10, as 1 is substituted in for x in the prior equation.
Not in most programming languages, though. You cannot start names with a number. Unless you’re using some strange character that merely looks like a number, anyways. Programming with unicode can get weird but generally works without issue these days.
The way I was taught growing up, brackets are [these]. Parenthesis are (these).
Yes, technically the latter are also brackets. But they can also be called parenthesis, whereas the former is exclusively a bracket. So we were taught to call them separate words to differentiate while doing equations.
I’m a theoretical physics grad student and a night school maths teacher, I have never heard this distinction. People in academia around me call them round and square brackets.
It’s a US vs UK (and probably others) distinction. The ( ) are almost never called brackets in the US, unless it’s a regional thing I’m not aware of. Also the [ ] didn’t get used in any math classes I was in the US up through calculus except for matrices.
Presuming PEMDAS is our order of operations and the 5 next to the parentheses indicates multiplication…
2+5(8-5) -> 2+5(3) -> 2+15=17
Other than adding a multiplication indicator next to the left parentheses for clarification (I believe it’s * for programming and text chat purposes, a miniature “x” or dot for pen and paper/traditional calculators), this seems fine, yeah.
…I worry about how many people may not understand how to solve equations like these.
No, it indicates Distribution, a(b+c)=(ab+ac), 5(8-5)=(5x8+5x5).
While I never failed a math class, I also never went past high school. When would your presumptions NOT be true?
Some forms of programming syntax, although there are the fringe cases where an equation (or function in programming) is represented by a symbol in conjunction with a parentheses input.
For example:
y(x) = 2*x+3
5+y(1) = 10, as 1 is substituted in for x in the prior equation.
And in some languages a number can be used as a name of a variable or a function, so it can be anything really
Not in Maths it can’t
No, it can only be a Factorised Term, ab+ac=a(b+c). You also can’t call a function by any letter that you’ve used as a pronumeral
Not in most programming languages, though. You cannot start names with a number. Unless you’re using some strange character that merely looks like a number, anyways. Programming with unicode can get weird but generally works without issue these days.
Wouldn’t we just assume function expressions are always “in parenthesis”? Then it’s just a substitution and no rules were changed.
No, because factorised Terms also are, ab+ac=a(b+c).
But factorised terms are multiplications, so they’re still following the same rules: a(b+c) = a*(b+c)
Example: 2(3+5)=16, and also 2*3+2*5=16
No, they’re Distribution done in the Brackets step, a(b+c)=(ab+ac), now solve (ab+ac)
Nope! a(b+c)=(ab+ac). 1/a(b+c)=1/(ab+ac), but 1/ax(b+c)=(b+c)/a.
(2x3+2x5) actually, or you’ll get the wrong answer when it follows a Division sign. See previous point
Nope, that’s wrong. See https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=10%2F2(2%2B3) for reference.
You think Maths textbooks are wrong?? 😂
See Maths textbooks for reference 😂
Multiplication sign is not required in situations like this. Same with unknowns - you don’t have to write
2*x, you just write2x.I prefer BM-DAS, no one’s out here doing exponents, and no one calls brackets “parentheses”…
The way I was taught growing up, brackets are [these]. Parenthesis are (these).
Yes, technically the latter are also brackets. But they can also be called parenthesis, whereas the former is exclusively a bracket. So we were taught to call them separate words to differentiate while doing equations.
They’re all brackets. Parentheses is actually the part inside the ().
I’m a theoretical physics grad student and a night school maths teacher, I have never heard this distinction. People in academia around me call them round and square brackets.
It’s a US vs UK (and probably others) distinction. The ( ) are almost never called brackets in the US, unless it’s a regional thing I’m not aware of. Also the [ ] didn’t get used in any math classes I was in the US up through calculus except for matrices.
Interesting! Nobody at my institute is a native English speaker. They’re from several European and some Asian and south American countries.
Yeah, but as an adult it depends entirely on whether you’re in an industry or hobby that requires that level of bracket nuance/exponents.
Most of us are just trying to remember the basics.
I learnt it as BODMAS (brackets, orders, division and multiplication, addition and subtraction).
Edit: I see we’re repeating points from the earlier posts down there 👇 (with default sort).