Quote:
Originally Posted by ElkRiverRancher
Here in the States, the arithmetic question would have been written:
1 + (5x9) = ? The brackets are used to indicate the separation of the figures. Without the brackets, the arithmetic would be done 'in order' of appearance, which is why you got answers of 54. Also, in the States, the symbol for multiplication is 'x', not '*'.
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As someone who has lived in the states her whole life, I have to disagree with this entirely. I was taught about order of operations in elementary school (primary school). The only time I would use parentheses would be to say (1+5)9 or (1+5)*9 which is not how it is written. It is written to do the multiplication first. The symbol for multiplication is x is the younger grades, but as soon as you start to get into higher math (like pre-algebra probably) you start using the * symbol when typing it out. When writing, you just use a dot (Or as I put above, just out it next to the parentheses.)
Sorry to get on my high horse about this, it just bothered me.