There seem to be two types of people in the world: people who love math and people who avoid it like the plague. But there may be a third group: people who find peace with math. I’ve never loved math, and when I was a young person in school, I was in the camp of folks who avoided it like the plague. However, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to enjoy some math puzzles if they’re not too far over my head. I’m not talking about advanced trigonometry, now, don’t get me wrong. But a basic math problem with a solution that’s solvable is actually kinda fun. Like the one here, for example.
Take a look at the math problem below and see how quickly you can solve it. If you remember some basic rules about math, you should have no trouble at all. Below the puzzle, we’ve put some tips and tricks, and at the bottom of the page, you can find the solution. Don’t give up too easily. You can do it. Good luck!
To solve this puzzle, you have to be able to recall some basic math rules. Check out this image, which explains PEMDAS.
Here are the basic principles of PEMDAS.
1. First, do what’s in the parentheses (in this situation, there are none).
2. Second, do the exponents (again, there are none).
3. Third, do any multiplication or division (whichever comes first) from left to right (-25 x 0 =0).
4. Now you have 50+50-0+2+2.
5. Next, do the addition and subtraction from left to right, 50+50 = 100.
6. That leaves you with 100-0+2+2.
7. This gives you the correct answer of 104.
There’s also this handy acronym that will help you remember.
Here’s the math problem again. Now, try to solve it using PEMDAS.
And now for the solution.
7(7-2×3) =?
- First, we need to start with solving the multiplication in the brackets: 7 (7- 6)
- Now solve the equation within the brackets: 7 (1)
- Last, you can continue with solving the multiplication: 7 x 1 = 7