2 (a) Work out - OCR - GCSE Maths - Question 2 - 2023 - Paper 2

To make the equation true, we can place brackets in the following way:

$(2 + 7 - 3) × 8 = 34$

Calculating inside the brackets first:

1. $2 + 7 = 9$
2. $9 - 3 = 6$

Then multiply by 8:

$6 × 8 = 48$

This is incorrect, so let's try a different arrangement. Instead, place brackets around the multiplication:

$2 + (7 − 3 × 8) = 34$

Calculating again:

1. $3 × 8 = 24$
2. $7 - 24 = -17$
3. $2 + (-17) = -15$

We can also try placing brackets like this:

$(2 + 7) - (3 × 8) = 34$,

Calculating inside the brackets:

1. $2 + 7 = 9$
2. $3 × 8 = 24$

Thus, we have: $9 - 24 = -15$

To summarize, the valid solution is $((2 + 7) - (3 × 8))$ to make the equation not equal 34, but correct arrangements must be checked to ensure accuracy.