Quote:
Originally Posted by alex_1980
I will concede that we are both correct and that the problem lies in the syntax of the formula.
I was reading -25/27x as meaning a fraction where 27x was the denominator.
ie: ((-1)(25))/((27)(x))
You read it as just an order of operations: (-1)(25)/(27)(x)
We are therefore both correct based on our own assumptions about the problem.
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Nope, the syntax of formula was absolutely exact. There are no 2 interpretations of -25/27x in math. It's ALWAYS equal to this:
-25
---- x
27
Otherwise it would be written as follows: -25/(27x). It's a main rule of brackets calculation. BTW, that's how ALL the programming languages do process such a formula. -25/27x is always -25 / 27 * x but never -25 / (27 * x)!
E.g.:
/* PHP */
$x = 50;
echo -25 / 27 * $x;
or
/* ANSI/ISO C */
x = 50;
printf("%d\n", -25 / 27 * x);
or
(* ANSI Pascal *)
x := 50;
writeln(-25 / 27 * x);
and so on...