Excel Mathematical formula

[MFSeifer]

Version: 2008 Operating System: Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) I am trying to put into an Excel Spreadsheet, (a fairly basic formula, but I am having a tough time figuring it out. I could use some guidance on the subject. The Formulas is as follows:

X times 120/113

 

[John McGhie]

Asterisk

X*(120/113)

You need the brackets to force the division to occur before the
multiplication.

If X is 10, the answer is
10.61946903

Cheers

Version: 2008 Operating System: Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) I am trying to
put into an Excel Spreadsheet, (a fairly basic formula, but I am having a
tough time figuring it out. I could use some guidance on the subject. The
Formulas is as follows:

X times 120/113

--

The email below is my business email -- Please do not email me about forum
matters unless I ask you to; or unless you intend to pay!

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP (Word, Mac Word), Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia. | Ph: +61 (0)4 1209 1410 | mailto:[email protected]

 

[Harvey Waxman]

X*(120/113)

You need the brackets to force the division to occur before the
multiplication.

If X is 10, the answer is
10.61946903

Cheers

The brackets don't seem to make any difference for me in this formula. I though that only addition or subtraction might need them. Am I missing something?

 

[CyberTaz]

Perhaps John should be sent back to Algebra I for a quick review of the
Order of Operations ;-) In this case the grouping doesn't hurt, but it is
unnecessary & therefore redundant.

Multiplication & Division are equal in priority, so if that's the extent of
the equation it makes no difference what order it's written. I.E.:

10*120/113 = 10.61946903
120/113*10 = 10.61946903
120*10/113 = 10.61946903
10/113*120 = 10.61946903
etc.

No brackets ('parentheses' to us Yanks) are required for grouping the
operations. Addition & Subtraction, however, are lesser priority than
Multiplication & Division, so grouping would have an impact on the result.
I.E.:

7+3*5 = 22
but
(7+3)*5 = 50

 

[John McGhie]

I dunno... You two...

I am quite well aware that the parenthesis (brackets!!) make no difference
in this specific instance.

I am also allowing for the possibility that the user may add just a few more
operations to his formula. Since I can't tell what those operations may be,
I added brackets just so there are no inconvenient side-effects.

I often use prophylactic parentheses in my own formulae, simple to avoid
unforseen side-effects as things get more complex. Unneeded brackets never
hurt, omitted ones can hurt big time, and take ages to debug.

Cheers

Perhaps John should be sent back to Algebra I for a quick review of the
Order of Operations ;-) In this case the grouping doesn't hurt, but it is
unnecessary & therefore redundant.

Multiplication & Division are equal in priority, so if that's the extent of
the equation it makes no difference what order it's written. I.E.:

10*120/113 = 10.61946903
120/113*10 = 10.61946903
120*10/113 = 10.61946903
10/113*120 = 10.61946903
etc.

No brackets ('parentheses' to us Yanks) are required for grouping the
operations. Addition & Subtraction, however, are lesser priority than
Multiplication & Division, so grouping would have an impact on the result.
I.E.:

7+3*5 = 22
but
(7+3)*5 = 50

--

The email below is my business email -- Please do not email me about forum
matters unless I ask you to; or unless you intend to pay!

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP (Word, Mac Word), Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia. | Ph: +61 (0)4 1209 1410 | mailto:[email protected]

 

[Harvey Waxman]

Unneeded brackets never
hurt, omitted ones can hurt big time, and take ages to debug.

I guess you're right, parenthetically speaking.