Anh's Code

Each group in Anh's math class is making up a secret math code, where unfamiliar symbols stand for five different mathematical operations. Anh's group is going to challenge Aurora's group to crack the code used in the following equations:

Aurora's group's results will be verified by asking them to evaluate this expression:

What should they get?  

Name the operation for each symbol.  Think about this carefully.

Carefully and concisely, write your explanation of how you figured it out, use these capital letters to substitute for the symbols:

• the heart is H
• the star is S
• the raindrop is R
• the lightening bolt is L
• the bull's-eye is B

This weeks solution:

There was really only one way I saw that you approached Anh's Code and that was to start by trying to figure out which operation stood for which figure. Once you figured out that the fifth operation was "exponentiation" then you could find the answer to the expression. The difficult part was in explaining your thinking regarding how you found the operation! Most of you stated you used trial and error.  Many of you put equations as proof of your solution however this did not explain how you found the matching operation to the given symbols.



The code is:
(The symbols used are the conventional symbols used on a computer to express the operation indicated.)

Heart = (+) or addition
Raindrop = (-) or subtraction
Bulls Eye = (*) or multiplication
Star = (/) or division
Lightning Bolt = (^) or exponents


After solving the final equation, using order of operation, your solution should have been 13.
Ms. L.