RE: RE : Re: [Math4u] Math persons

> I just had a thought.
> 16/2*a =8a by math convention.
> But what happens if we leave out the multiplication sign
> 16/2a
> Now maybe it's wrong, but there is a tendency in my mind to think of 2a as a
> term or entity and come up with 16/2a=8/a
> So maybe leaving out the multiplication sign was done on purpose to trick
> our subconscious. I'm not so sure what the correct answer is when a sign is
> omitted.

Hi, all!
I think the problem is to use the notacion 16/2

instead of

16
__

2

In this notation, there´s no problem at all:

16
__ a

2

is not the same to

16
__

2a

I think the notation 16/2 means "a number".

I'm not sure if I am wrong, but for avoiding these problems, in college we use the notation

16
__

2

instead of

16/2.

This is not a good notation for mathematics, and I believe people began to use it when the first typewriters came into use.

Regards
Mario
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