# Math problem

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/math-problem/580084>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 28, 2011, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/math-problem/580084 "2011-04-28T21:54:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 28

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**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\
**Post date:** [April 29, 2011, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/math-problem/580084/28 "2011-04-29T00:31:22Z")

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> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#):
>
> What exactly are you saying here?  
> That 6÷2(1+2) is an ambiguous expression, and 6÷2×(1+2) is not ambiguous? They both seem ambiguous to me.

That’s precisely what I am saying. Multiplication/division should be performed left to right as encountered in a problem.

The first expression contains an ‘implicit’ multiplication. As noted above, there are teachers and even some numeric solvers that perform the implicit multiplication before explicit multiplication/division.

A rule is only absolute if everybody agrees on it. There’s sufficient argument over the application of implicit multiplication that there is a _de facto_ ambiguity.

You can militantly insist one particularly way is correct, but that’s not going to change anybody’s mind or force the “mathematical community” (whatever that is) to accept it.

Or, what **Indistinguishable** just posted.

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