Originally Posted by Morgan C
Ok what if we split it up.
2x and 2*x are the exact same thing, right? Or are even those 'paired'? I need a source on this, because it's just not right.
Lets make it 48/2(x), where x=9+3. Same equation.
= 48 / 2 (x)
= 48 ÷ 2 * x
= 24 * x
= 24 * (9+3)
Unless you can provide some proof that a / sign means that absolutely everything in the entire equation following that sign is now a denominator, or that 2x != 2*x, or at least 2*x is not 'as important' as 2x, then I don't know what to say.
Like I said, it sounds retarded isolated but it changes how the equations react.
I know that 2 is 'latched' to (9+3) because it's written as 2(9+3) and not 2*(9+3).
In your example, you need to solve for X first, because it's 2 quantities of x, not just 2 times x. The isolated product is the same, but you need to do it first to simplify the equation.
Deryk, I know FOIL is for two separate binomials... don't really give a fuck in this case, it's the same logic.
mortum, we can't assume the problem is written as anything really, because it wasn't written - it was typed. That's why we're running into issues. If this person wrote it out in standard notation, it'd be obvious as to which term was a denominator and which was supposed to be dealt with after the division. In this case, since it's written as 2(9+3), as per my explanations above, we have to assume that it's (48)/(2(9+3)).
In the math classes you'd have taken, the professor (hopefully) wouldn't be dumb enough to be as ambiguous as the author of this equation.