Welcome to a fun mathematical puzzle that is going around the internet.
At first glance, it looks like a simple test for elementary school students.
The prompt on the paper gives us a clear challenge.
It says: “No Pen, No Paper, Only Use Your Brain!”
Underneath this instruction, we see a simple math equation: 12 + 48 ÷ 4! = ?
Many people look at this problem and jump to an answer right away.
However, many of those quick answers turn out to be completely wrong.
Let us break down this puzzle step by step using basic math rules.
To solve any equation with multiple operations, we must follow the order of operations.
In mathematics, this order is commonly known as PEMDAS or BODMAS.
This rule tells us to solve parentheses first, then exponents, followed by multiplication and division, and finally addition and subtraction.
Looking at our equation, we see an addition sign and a division sign.
Most people notice the exclamation mark after the number four and think it is just punctuation.
They assume the exclamation mark is expressing excitement about the problem.
Because of this assumption, they simply calculate 48 divided by 4 first.
48 divided by 4 gives us 12.
Then, they add 12 to 12 and arrive at the number 24.
If you thought the answer was 24, you are not alone, but you missed a key mathematical symbol!
In mathematics, an exclamation mark after a number is not an exclamation of excitement.
It is a mathematical operation called a factorial.
A factorial of a whole number means multiplying that number by every positive integer below it down to one.
Therefore, 4! does not mean a loud “four”.
It means 4 factorial, which is calculated as 4 × 3 × 2 × 1.
Let us do that math first: 4 times 3 equals 12.
Then, 12 times 2 equals 24.
Finally, 24 times 1 equals 24.
So, the symbol 4! is actually equal to the number 24.
Now we can rewrite the original equation with this new value.
The equation becomes: 12 + 48 ÷ 24 = ?
Following the standard order of operations, division must be performed before addition.
So, we perform the division part first: 48 divided by 24.
48 divided by 24 equals 2.
Now, our equation is simplified down to a very simple addition problem.
We take the initial 12 and add the result of our division, which is 2.
12 plus 2 equals 14.
Therefore, the accurate logical answer to this viral puzzle is 14.
It is an clever trick that tests both your knowledge of math symbols and order of operations!
