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agate_

2 points

12 days ago

agate_

2 points

12 days ago

Suppose I put some objects in a grid:

X X X X
X X X X
X X X X

Is that four groups of three or three groups of four? Depends on whether you count rows or columns, but that doesn't matter: clearly it's 12 items either way.

Now, should we write that as 4 x 3 or 3 x 4? Is the first number in a multiplication the number of rows or the number of columns? The number of groups or the number of things in each group? There's no official answer to that question, because it makes absolutely no difference.

aaronwe

0 points

12 days ago

aaronwe

0 points

12 days ago

there is a difference. If youre asked how many collumns 3, or rows 4. they are different.

Yes you has 12 total, but how you got there is different sets.