What are the missing order of operations for 8—— 2 —— 6 —— 5—— 1=11

  • Thread starter Deleted member 72159
  • Start date
D

Deleted member 72159

Guest
Instructions were given must use one of the following:
Brackets, multiply, divide, plus, take away.

8—— 2 —— 6 —— 5—— 1=11
Can anyone help please, it must use one each of the above operators and kept in this numerical order. I am having a debate with my partner about who has the correct answer. Any help please would be appreciated. Thank you Katiejane
 
Instructions were given must use one of the following:
Brackets, multiply, divide, plus, take away.

8—— 2 —— 6 —— 5—— 1=11
Can anyone help please, it must use one each of the above operators and kept in this numerical order. I am having a debate with my partner about who has the correct answer. Any help please would be appreciated. Thank you Katiejane
Sorry must use one each of the above operators not just one.
 
Presumably you mean that you must use one each of the four operators +, -, ×, ÷, and as many parentheses as needed; parentheses are not considered operators, and you can't use just one.

It's entirely possible that you have two valid answers. It's also possible that both are wrong, or even that there is no solution! So we'll need to see both of your answers, as lev888 said.

For this sort of puzzle, there are no guarantees, just as there is no method to use other than trial and error. A lot of patience is needed, which is why I don't like this sort of thing except as a fun challenge. It is not a test of intelligence, or a competition for "the one correct answer".
 
I have a solution, but I won't post it for the time being.

I used the "+," "-," "*," and "/" operators, once each as stated. Also, I used the minimum pairs of parentheses needed
for my solution.

It checks on my scientific calculator and my TI-83 graphics calculator.
 
I, too, have a solution, but am still looking to see if there's another. (I don't need a calculator to check mine.)

EDIT: I now have two solutions; oddly enough, they have the same order of operators, but different parenthesization, and very different meaning! Still waiting to hear from the OP.
 
Last edited:
I, too, have a solution, . . . (I don't need a calculator to check mine.)

I don't "need" a calculator/calculator to check mine, but I wrote that, because I wanted users here to have more confidence in my
alleged two solutions. (edit)
I don't have as much confidence in your alleged solutions without you checking them beyond what you worked out. That is the
reality/logic of it all because we're human. And the more alleged solutions you come up with, the more likely you have an error.
 
Last edited:
Did I say something offensive?

The goal here will be to determine whether the OP's two answers are both valid; I looked for two solutions in order to confirm my expectation that it is possible. It is typical of this sort of problem that there can be more than one valid solution.

I commented that I didn't need a calculator as a hint that there are no difficult operations, not to put anyone down for using one. But in fact, I wouldn't want to depend on a machine to tell me whether I am interpreting the order of operations correctly, because I know that calculators can be wrong (and certainly can be used incorrectly).

I don't expect anyone to have confidence in my solutions that they haven't seen yet, or vice versa, regardless of whether I claim to have checked them. When all the solutions are revealed, we will be able to check for ourselves. You have the right to doubt me. I'm just wondering why it matters.
 
8—— 2 —— 6 —— 5—— 1 = 11
Short "analysis": 8—— 2 —— 6 —— 5 = 10 or 11 or 12
8—— 2 —— 6 —— 5 = 10 + 1 = 11
8—— 2 —— 6 —— 5 = 12 - 1 = 11
8—— 2 —— 6 —— 5 = 11 / 1 = 11
8—— 2 —— 6 —— 5 = 11 * 1 = 11

My solution:
(8 + 2) * 6 / 5 - 1 = 11
 
Last edited:
The answer I had was simple, (8+2) x 6 divide by 5 - 1 =11, my partners answer is 8 divided by (2 -6) + 5 x 1 = 3. In the given question it stated the answer was 11, this was why I asked for advice, I was just interested in the replies as there are many answers, but I thought maybe just the simplest one. A lot of trouble I know to go to for a simple answer.
 
Denis, two alleged solutions were referred to using the same order of the operators but a different placement of parentheses.
What if a second solution used the same order of operators as the solution you gave under your spoiler?

Here is that other/another related solution:

8 + 2*6/(5 - 1) = 11
 
Those are in fact my two solutions. I'm still waiting to see whether the OP had those or something different. There may well be more.
 
.......my partners answer is 8 divided by (2 -6) + 5 x 1 = 3. In the given question it stated the answer was 11, this was why I asked for advice........
Since 11 was the required answer, WHY d'heck are you
bringing in a "3" solution?!
 
Instructions were given must use one of the following:
Brackets, multiply, divide, plus, take away.

8—— 2 —— 6 —— 5—— 1=11
Can anyone help please, it must use one each of the above operators and kept in this numerical order. I am having a debate with my partner about who has the correct answer. Any help please would be appreciated. Thank you Katiejane
The answer I had was simple, (8+2) x 6 divide by 5 - 1 =11, my partners answer is 8 divided by (2 -6) + 5 x 1 = 3. In the given question it stated the answer was 11, this was why I asked for advice, I was just interested in the replies as there are many answers, but I thought maybe just the simplest one. A lot of trouble I know to go to for a simple answer.
Clearly you win the "debate", since the other answer simply doesn't answer the question.

What reason did she give for thinking her answer was correct?

(Clearly, also, the best way to ask your question would have been to state both proposed solutions from the start, which would have saved a lot of time. No answer we could give without that information would have helped.)
 
Since 11 was the required answer, WHY d'heck are you
bringing in a "3" solution?!
That was the answer my partner came up with, he would not admit until this morning he was working it out wrong
 
I think the reason for thinking her answer was correct was she thought it was a question with the wrong answer to confuse you ????? Well that reason did amaze me not confuse me, this all started over a bet who brought coffe for the week, I thought I would post and ask as she did not think I was right, I will enjoy my fee coffee though.
 
I think the reason for thinking her answer was correct was she thought it was a question with the wrong answer to confuse you ????? Well that reason did amaze me not confuse me, this all started over a bet who brought coffe for the week, I thought I would post and ask as she did not think I was right, I will enjoy my fee coffee though.
You have to pay a fee for coffee that you won?!!
 
That was the answer my partner came up with, he would not admit until this morning he was working it out wrong.

I think the reason for thinking her answer was correct was she thought it was a question with the wrong answer to confuse you ????? Well that reason did amaze me not confuse me, this all started over a bet who brought coffe for the week, I thought I would post and ask as she did not think I was right, I will enjoy my fee coffee though.
You're using "he", then "she" for your partner:
are you serious....or is your coffee heavily laced?????
 
Top