syntax

broadrobert

Hi,

I am just wondering is it possible to express this in mathematics, or does the statement have any meaning.
What does .1/2 = ?
ie. we know that .5 = 1/2 and that .4 = 4/10
But does .1/2 have any meaning, and if so what number does it equal?

sakiboy

.05

broadrobert

sakiboy wrote: »

.05

How do you get to that answer?
The more I think about it, my brain goes into an infinite loop.
.2 = 1/5
So could I deduce from that, that .1/2 would be equal to 5/1 which equals "5" ??
anyone else have any thoughts?

brophya2007

I would read that as 0.1/2 = 0.05

broadrobert

No sorry I meant it to be read as .(1/2)
Hope that is clearer?
What would it equal then? or is the statement just nonsense?
I remember I asked my maths teacher this question years ago and he looked perplexed for a minute then just laughed and said the question didn't make sense, but he was not able to explain why it didn't make sense...

brophya2007

In that case it reads as 0..5 which is incorrect syntax (two decimal points)

bnt

I thought it was an Americanism: they say .1, we say 0.1 . No more than that.

Blackpanther95

This is unconventional. Generally mathematicians design notation for a calculation/function /etc .They don't come up with a meaning for notation. So in short it means whatever you want it to mean.