There are many puzzles on the internet that have left people perplexed and arguing about the true solution. A viral math puzzle that had employers and even scientists scratching their heads is comparable to the notorious blue and black clothing that went popular on social media and even among experts.
In 2019, a user invited their followers to solve the now-controversial math problem 8 ÷ 2(2 + 2) in a photo they uploaded on Twitter. This sparked a heated discussion on social media on Twitter.
The iconic math puzzle has the editors of the lifestyle magazine Popular Mechanics at a standstill. The editors discussed and figured out the true answer to the issue by moving the discussion to their official office chatbox.
One of the editors said that the common rule known as “PEMDAS,” or “Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, and Subtraction,” was the practical approach that was taught in elementary and high school. In this instance, equations or problems must be answered from left to right in the order that the operations occur on the acronym: those in parenthesis must be solved first, followed by exponents, and so on.
As a result, they would have 8 ÷ 2 x 4 after solving the 2 + 2 in the parenthesis, which would provide 2. After this, according to Mashup Math, the equation requires that the leftmost operation be completed first. This means that although though multiplication comes before division, 8 ÷ 2 must be solved first, not 2 x 4.
When the quotient is 4, we get 4 x 4, which has a product of 16. Even math-savvy scientists tend to disagree with this operation, though, as do half of the internet population.
The answer, according to the other half of Popular Mechanics editors, is 1. How did they come up with this query? Additionally, they employed “PEMDAS,” although they interpreted it differently.
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