How do you translate "5m2+2" into a verbal expression?

1 Answer
George C.
Jun 25, 2015

How about: "five times the square of m, plus two".

Without the comma it could mean 5(m+2)2

Or you could use: "multiply m by itself, multiply by five, then add two.

Explanation:

Even "two more than five times the square of m" could be misunderstood as (5+2)m2

This all really highlights the ambiguity of our language when trying to describe precise mathematical expressions - which is why we tend to use symbols instead.

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