Simple-looking maths problem baffling millions — can you answer 'genius' puzzle?
Simple-looking maths problem baffling millions — can you answer 'genius' puzzle?
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It's a seemingly simple sum with no big numbers or complex equations. The only problem is no one can agree on the answer — and millions of people have been trying to show they can solve it. The maths test question shared on social media reads: "3x3-3÷3+3". Posted on a Facebook page in July, the post has since been liked more than 1.7 million times, with more than a million comments too from people trying to solve it.
There are two numbers being most often shared as the answer. At first glance, you might simply attempt to solve the problem by following the sequence of numbers and symbols, meaning: three multiplied by three equals nine, nine minus three equals six, six divided by three equals two, and two plus three gives you the final answer of five.
And this is indeed the answer that so many people arrived at. But it's not correct. And that's because, in maths, there is a process called BIDMAS, or BODMAS (PEMDAS if you're in America). BIDMAS is an acronym used to tell you the correct order to complete an equation when there are different operations. It stands for Brackets, Indices, Division, Multiplication, Addition, Subtraction.
And one user explained how you use that to get to the correct answer. They said: "To solve the mathematical equation correctly, we use the order of operations (PEMDAS/BODMAS: Parentheses/Brackets, Exponents/Orders, Multiplication and Division (from left to right), Addition and Subtraction (from left to right)).".
