That's not my point anyways. My point is that it is cancelling itself out until it reaches 1. That was the point of my post from the beginning. And from what I know parenthesis tell you to multiply, when next to another equation of the same type. Sure this is not next to another equation so that point is slightly void but also..to make more sense of this equation, the only thing you can multiply to get 2 (1+1=2 in normal math) is 1. The way in which dedicated wrote out the title of this thread is misleading as it seems to be an addition problem but if you actually look at the equation it would appear that you are doing just as much multiplication (if not more) as you are adding. But I'm not going to debate over something that is so clearly obvious that even a child could figure it out. I wont say it again, because several other people who are brilliant at algebra said the same thing..all you are seeing here is the numbers cancelling eachother out until they reach 1.
But I'm not going to debate over something that is so clearly obvious that even a child could figure it out. [/b][/quote] In a way, you just called me stupid. I'm sorry that I do not understand this but I don't. I simply don't get how (1+1)=1 is multiplication or how it gets cancelled out. I just don't.
Technically, Lorn is right. If you're left with 1 + 1 = 1, you have to combine the like terms on the left side of the equal sign. Thus, you're left with 2 = 1. 2 does not equal 1, therefore the problem is no solution.
(1+1)(1-1)/(1-1) = 1(1-1)/(1-1) Now, you start to cancel out... (You take out the divisions by multiplying each side) (1+1)(1-1) = 1(1-1) Cancel out again... (Get rid of the 2 (1-1)'s by dividing by (1-1)) (1+1) = 1 Which is what you are left with...
um, I don't get it. I'm not in math mode anyway cause it's the weekend so my brain is dead for a few days.
I thouhgt you were talking about canceling (1+1)=1 out.. [/b][/quote] Nope In the end it does end with 2=1 but if you don't work that out you have 1+1=1
Ahhh that is all so confusing. We are doing algebra in maths at the moment. It's the weekend as well. Not the time for maths
Okay, if you are left with this problem: ( 1 + 1 ) = 1 There is a 1 in front of the parenthesis by default. It's a rule of math. Therefore, the problem is: 1 ( 1 + 1 ) = 1 Thus, it is: (1 × 1) + (1 × 1) = 1 You end up with: 1 + 1 = 1 See? The parenthesis are gone. Now, as a rule in math, all like terms must be combined. Thus: 2 = 1 However, 2 does not equal 1, so we are left with: 2 =/ 1 (=/ means "does not equal" and the slash is supposed to be on top of the equal sign) or: Ø (Ø means "no solution").
Well, yeah. That's the short way. (1+1)=1 (2)=1 But, you would still have to get rid of the parenthesis. As a rule of math, there is a 1 in front of the parenthesis, since they stand for multiplication. Thus, the problem is: 1(2)=1 Then you distribute and you get: 2=1 And we're back. Two does not equal 1. Thus disproving the problem.
OK, guys. Calm down. The one thing that you're missing is that you're dividing by zero which is something you can't do in math... Since X=Y, they are the same number. Look back to the picture. In the fifth line, it says [(X+Y)(X-Y)]/(X-Y) = [Y(X-Y)]/(X-Y)]. If we substitute X for Y since they are the same number we get: [(X+Y)(X-Y)]/(X-X) = [Y(X-Y)]/(X-X)] Looking at what is highlighted in bold above, we see that we are subtracting X from X, meaning we are subtracting a number from itself. For ex. 1-1 Any number subtracted from itself equals zero. You cannot divide by zero in math. All the math teachers say it repeatedly and if you check on any calculator, dividing something by zero will give you an error. So, by trying to divide by zero, you're screwing up the equation and, thus, getting the false answer of 2=1. Trust me, every year the math teachers at my school show us this problem because they're math freaks and think it's fun to watch people scratch their heads at why 2=1. And every year they give us the same reason why it's wrong : you're dividing by zero. I know that may have been confusing but it's true. Math still makes sense, you're just not allowed to divide by zero. I could go into detail about why you can't divide by zero but I'm too lazy. And yes, I'm a math freak.