What's the answer? FOURTEEN PLUS SIX TIMES THREE MINUS TWO?

Question

There are many ways of working this out but how would you do it??

Answer 1

29. Do the x and / first ( 6x3=18) then the + and - (14+18-3=29)

Answer 2

Fourteen plus six times three minus two is

14 + 6(3 - 2) = 14 + 6 = 20 or it may be

14 + 6x3 - 2 = 14 + 18 - 2 = 20. Both ways the answer is the same

Answer 3

14 + 6*3 - 2 = 30
Everyone who didn't get that needs to stop making assumptions about parentheses.
It really is a shame that so few people know how evaluate this sort of expression. I remember there was another problem like this one day where not one single answerer got it right (out of about 40 answerers). I think it's because they all made assumptions about parentheses and punched it into a calculator. I started to answer, but I didn't because a whole bunch of people had answered the wrong thing ahead of me. Also, most people don't know that the majority of calculators do not do PEMDAS (I have never seen one, at least), so that can make them get lots of problems wrong. Calculators and computers generally do the operations in this order, from left to right:
First: ()^ (actually, parentheses are higher in priority than exponentiation, because you could enter a^(n+m))
Second: */ (these have equal priority)
Last: +- (these have equal priority too)
The computer scans the input and evaluates things with the same priority as they appear from left to right.
So, you can see how this would cause problems. Consider this example:
2/1*2 + 1
Using PEMDAS, you should get 2. However, the calculator will say 5. To get the same result as you would get by hand, you must enter the expression as follows:
2/(1*2) + 1
Maybe people should be taught using the order of operations from the point of view of a computer instead of PEMDAS, but too much literature is written using that convention to ignore it in favor of the computerized version. We just need to get used to both of them and use the proper one for the context. To complicate matters further, I have heard of another order of operations called BODMAS: (Brackets, Orders, Division, Multiplication, Addition, Subtraction). It really is a shame that there's so many of them, but we can live with them all if we use enough parentheses (because all of the standards give parentheses the highest priority). You should use them as much as you need to in order to make your expressions unambiguous.

I hope this answers your question. Good luck!

Answer 4

30

Answer 5

(14+6)3-2
Follow the order of operations:
Penguins Ended My Donut Addiction Saturday
20*3-2=60-2=58

Answer 6

If the expression is
14 + 6*3 - 2 = 14+18-2 = 30
But if
14 + 6*(3 - 2) = 20

Answer 7

My Dear Aunt Sally is the way to go. It would really be:
(Multiplication Division Addition Subtraction.

14+ (6*3) - 2 or
14+ 18 - 2 or
14+16 which is equal to 30.

Answer 8

I do the multiplication first. 6 times 3 = 18.

And then I do all the addition and subtraction to get 30.

Answer 9

depends where the brackets are,
could be written anyway of these.
1: (14+6)x(3-2)=20
2: ((14+6)x3)-2=58
3: 14+(6x3) -2 = 30
4:14 + (6x(3-2)) = 20
etc etc
but if there is no brackets you can not just put them in, so you have to take it literally by doing this,
14+6=20
20x3=60
60-2=58.

Answer 10

You have to use the order of operations.

PEMDAS
Parenthesis, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, subtraction.

14 + 6 x 3 - 2

First, you multiply.

6 x 3 = 18

14 + 18 - 2

Now, you add.

14 + 18 = 32

32 - 2 = 30

Answer 11

14+6*3-2
14+18-2
32-2
=30