Question

While doing his maths homework, Jake interchanged two symbols in the given expression. If the correct value of the expression is 33, find the pair of symbols that were interchanged.

• A. + and ×
• B. × and –
• C. + and –
• D. None of the above

Answer 1

The correct option is C + and –

Initial expression:
$8\times 4$ – 5 + <!--td {border: 1px solid #ccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}--> $\frac{16}{4}$
= 32 – 5 + 4
= 31

Interchanging + and –, we get:
$8\times 4$ + 5 – $\frac{16}{4}$
= 32 + 5 – 4
= 37 – 4
= 33

Hence, + and – are the interchanged signs.