Order of operations

It is generally accepted by mathematics educators and by scientific calculator companies that in the “correct” order of arithmetic operations, multiplication and division are done from left to right. Thus, 48÷4×12 is evaluated as 144. The Casio fx-82MS and the Casio fx-350ES shown above give this answer. There is, however, some disagreement whenever parentheses are used to indicate multiplication.

My daughter’s high school teacher asked her to evaluate 48÷4(12). My daughter’s answer was 144; her teacher’s answer was 1. What answer is given by the calculators?

Volkswagen Beetles

My wife and I currently have eight Hot Wheels Volkswagen Beetles: Herbie and the Treasure Hunts and the six shown here.

Volkswagen Beetle

As I was writing this blog post, I was surprised to realize that I had not yet blogged about the Hot Wheels Volkswagen Beetles my wife and I have collected (except for Herbie). This afternoon, I saw three of these Volkswagen Beetles from 2015 and I bought one of them. While I was eating lunch, I was surprised to find a circle flame logo on the front of the card behind the scale model. Although I regularly look for the circle flame logo on the scale models (which the newer regular Treasure Hunts have), I did not see it on the hood of the car.

Black and Yellow Batmobiles

I recently bought a Batman Live Batmobile in black and a pinstriped “1989 Batmobile” with a “black mirror” body. (It may not be obvious from my photograph, but the black mirror paint is sort of like what you get when you mix pewter with motor oil: a rainbow effect.) Both have yellow tinted windows.

Fire Engines

My wife and I don’t collect fire engines but we’ve bought a few of the weirder looking ones. Shown above left is an Old Number 5.5 from 2007 (not to be confused with the Old Number 5), and shown above right is a 5 Alarm from 2009. The one shown on the left is a recent acquisition: a Backdrafter from 2015. All three are either first or second releases. We also have a 2009 Fire-Eater Treasure Hunt. (Note that the 5 Alarm shown here has a circle flame logo on its side, but it is not a Treasure Hunt.)

Carbonic: Year of the Goat

My friend Dennis from Australia gave me the Hot Wheels Year of the Goat 2015 car shown above left. I understand that it is exclusively available from Toys R Us. The Carbonic shown above right is a recent acquisition.