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Left-associativity of division operator `$/$' not always used in WA

Posted 1 year ago

Division of real numbers is neither commutative nor associative. This means that we usually have to put parentheses to avoid ambiguity. However, since this arithmetic operation occurs frequently, it is common to think of this operation as left-associative. We obtain $$a/b/c = (a/b)/c=\frac{a}{bc}$$ and can so reduce the number of parentheses.

Interestingly, Wolfram|Alpha don't seem to always follow this rule. Instead of $$a/b/c/d/e/f/g\longrightarrow\frac{a}{bcdefg}$$ I get $$a/b/c/d/e/f/g\longrightarrow\frac{a\color{blue}{e}}{bcdfg}$$

Is there a valid reason for $\color{blue}{e}$ not being part of the denominator, or is it simply a bug?

POSTED BY: Markus Scheuer
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