# What is the proper answer to this math problem (from youtube). **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 12, 2016, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-proper-answer-to-this-math-problem-from-youtube/754588 "2016-05-12T02:24:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![davida03801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@davida03801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davida03801)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-proper-answer-to-this-math-problem-from-youtube/754588/41 "2016-05-15T12:04:27Z")
The answer is 1 Order of operations, and dividing by 1/3 is what catches folks. ---
**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:** [May 15, 2016, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-proper-answer-to-this-math-problem-from-youtube/754588/42 "2016-05-15T14:44:27Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > wolfram alpha says 9. That’s good enough for me. And how did you write “one-third” into wolfram alpha? I’m betting you used “1/3”, which is absolutely not the same thing, and rather the point of the whole exercise. An appeal to authority doesn’t work so well when your very own biases creep into that authority. Garbage in, Garbage out and all that. But as I (and several other posters) noted earlier, it’s one of those annoying internet order of operations problems specifically designed as a “gotcha”. Send it back to writer with a stern notice not to do it again. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-proper-answer-to-this-math-problem-from-youtube/754588/43 "2016-05-15T15:33:31Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > And how did you write “one-third” into wolfram alpha? I’m betting you used “1/3”, which is absolutely not the same thing, and rather the point of the whole exercise. > > An appeal to authority doesn’t work so well when your very own biases creep into that authority. Garbage in, Garbage out and all that. > > But as I (and several other posters) noted earlier, it’s one of those annoying internet order of operations problems specifically designed as a “gotcha”. Send it back to writer with a stern notice not to do it again. I copy and pasted the OPs post. And it only becomes one-third after the operation resolves in the case of 1/3. Prior to that it is read as 1 divided by 3 since it’s used as an operator. That’s like saying 5 x 5 ought to be read as 25 prior to everything else in the expression being resolved in proper order. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-proper-answer-to-this-math-problem-from-youtube/754588/44 "2016-05-15T16:23:56Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > I copy and pasted the OPs post. I copy-and-pasted **UDS** ’s transliteration into Wolfram Alpha and got 1. Neither of these is exactly identical to the way the expression looks in the video, but I believe **UDS** ’s comes closer. > [@UDS](#): > > **9 - 3 ÷ ⅓ + 1 = ?** ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-proper-answer-to-this-math-problem-from-youtube/754588/45 "2016-05-15T16:27:55Z")
Isn’t it time to stop using this archaic abbreviated style of notation? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-proper-answer-to-this-math-problem-from-youtube/754588/46 "2016-05-15T16:30:16Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Isn’t it time to stop using this archaic abbreviated style of notation? What style do you mean? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-proper-answer-to-this-math-problem-from-youtube/754588/47 "2016-05-16T00:27:19Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > PEMDAS. Please excuse my dear Aunt Sally. It’s plastered on the walls of middle schools throughout the country. It was taught when I was a kid, it’s still taught. Dude. Why are you ALWAYS apologizing for your dear Aunt Sally, even to the point where you have to plaster your apologies all over the nation’s middle school walls? She really sounds like more trouble than she’s worth. I’d lose her as quickly as I could, were I in your position. I mean, how “dear” can she be if you’re constantly having to ask people to excuse her? And in middle schools yet! What the hell does she keep DOING? ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2016, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-proper-answer-to-this-math-problem-from-youtube/754588/48 "2016-05-18T12:59:07Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Dude. Why are you ALWAYS apologizing for your dear Aunt Sally, even to the point where you have to plaster your apologies all over the nation’s middle school walls? > > She really sounds like more trouble than she’s worth. I’d lose her as quickly as I could, were I in your position. I mean, how “dear” can she be if you’re constantly having to ask people to excuse her? > > And in middle schools yet! What the hell does she keep DOING? You’re talking to the same sort of person who wants everyone to find his x. Dude, she’s over you. Get over it. We’re not going to find her. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2016, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-proper-answer-to-this-math-problem-from-youtube/754588/49 "2016-05-18T13:09:06Z")
As presented in the OP, there is a space before and after each operand except there is no space in the 1/3, so I interpreted it as a fraction. 3 ÷ 1/3 = 9. If there had been spaces used throughout my answer would be different: 3 ÷ 1 / 3 = 1. Another indicator is the use of “÷” to represent the division step. If I saw that, I would assume any “/” would indicate a fraction, otherwise you’re using two different symbols for the same operation which is stupidly confusing. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2016, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-proper-answer-to-this-math-problem-from-youtube/754588/50 "2016-05-19T03:02:00Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > As presented in the OP, there is a space before and after each operand except there is no space in the 1/3, so I interpreted it as a fraction. 3 ÷ 1/3 = 9. If there had been spaces used throughout my answer would be different: 3 ÷ 1 / 3 = 1. Many posters above have mentioned this, but I am :dubious: I am very reluctant to assign any syntactic or semantic meaning to the presence or absence of any gratuitous white space that may appear (or not) in any expression. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-proper-answer-to-this-math-problem-from-youtube/754588.md?page=2)