this post was submitted on 03 Dec 2023
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[โ€“] Cornelius_Wangenheim@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Implicit multiplication takes priority over explicit multiplication or division. 2(2+2) is not the same thing as 2*(2+2).

[โ€“] SmartmanApps@programming.dev 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Correct! 2(2+2) is a single term - subject to The Distributive Law - and 2x(2+2) is 2 terms. Those who added a multiply sign there have effectively flipped the (2+2) from being in the denominator to being in the numerator, hence the wrong answer.

But it's not called "implicit multiplication" - it's Terms and/or The Distributive Law which applies (and they're 2 separate rules, so you cannot lump them together as a single rule).