two students are playing a math game . the object of the game is to make the least possible number by arranging the given digits inside absolute value bars on a card . in the first round , each player will use the digits 3,5,and7 to fill in the card.
One student arranges the numbers on the card is shown. What was this student's mistake.
the mistake was in not showing the arrangement.
To determine the student's mistake, we need to consider the objective of the game, which is to make the least possible number by arranging the given digits inside absolute value bars on a card. Let's review the arrangement provided by the student:
|7 - 5 + 3|
The student arranged the digits 7, 5, and 3 inside absolute value bars, and then subtracted 5 from 7 and added 3. This results in:
|2 + 3|
The mistake in this arrangement is that the student did not consider the absolute value operation correctly. The absolute value of a number is always positive, meaning it removes any negative sign. So, when using absolute value bars, the signs inside them should be ignored.
To correct the student's mistake, the arrangement should be:
|7 - 3 + 5|
This will give us:
|4 + 5|
The least possible number that can be made using the given digits is 9.