Math puzzles often go viral on the internet because they look simple at first glance.
However, they frequently confuse thousands of people due to order of operations.
In the picture, we see a handwritten math problem: 25 ÷ 5(2+3).
Above the equation, it clearly says: “Answer is NOT 1”.
Many people might wonder why the answer is not 1 and what the correct value actually is.
Let us break down this puzzle step by step using basic arithmetic rules.
To solve any mathematical expression correctly, we must follow the standard order of operations.
This rule is widely known as PEMDAS or BODMAS.
Both acronyms stand for Parentheses (Brackets), Exponents (Orders), Multiplication and Division, and Addition and Subtraction.
The most crucial part of this rule is how multiplication and division are handled.
Multiplication and division have equal priority in mathematics.
This means you do not always perform multiplication before division.
Instead, you must perform multiplication and division strictly from left to right as they appear.
Now, let us apply this rule directly to our problem: 25 ÷ 5(2+3).
Step 1: Focus on the expression inside the parentheses first.
We calculate (2 + 3), which equals 5.
Now, we replace (2 + 3) with 5 in our expression.
The math problem now becomes 25 ÷ 5 × 5.
Step 2: Look at the remaining operations, which are division and multiplication.
Since division and multiplication have the exact same level of precedence, we move from left to right.
The first operation on the left side is 25 ÷ 5.
We perform 25 ÷ 5, which equals 5.
Step 3: Substitute 5 back into the expression.
Now we are left with 5 × 5.
Finally, we calculate 5 × 5, which gives us 25.
Why do many people incorrectly think the answer is 1?
They wrongly multiply 5 by (2 + 3) first to get 5 × 5 = 25.
Then they divide 25 by 25, reaching 1.
This is incorrect because it violates the left-to-right rule for multiplication and division.
The image correctly hints that the answer is not 1.
By following the logical and standard rules of algebra, the correct answer is definitely 25.
