At first glance, this looks like a simple math problem that should take only a few seconds.
But there is a small detail in the way the expression is written that can easily make you stop and think twice.
The puzzle asks us to solve:
Before choosing an answer, it is important not to rush.
The safest approach is to follow the standard order of operations step by step.
Let’s start with the part inside the parentheses.
We have 6 − 7 + 4.
Subtraction and addition have the same priority, so we work from left to right.
First, 6 − 7 gives us −1.
Then, −1 + 4 gives us 3.
So the original expression becomes:
12 ÷ 2(3) × 2
Now things get a little more interesting.
Multiplication and division have the same priority in standard arithmetic.
That means we do not automatically multiply before dividing just because a multiplication sign appears next to the parentheses.
Instead, we work from left to right.
So we begin with 12 ÷ 2.
That gives us 6.
Next, we multiply by the 3 from the parentheses.
Six times three is 18.
Finally, we multiply by the last 2.
Eighteen times two gives us 36.
So, following the usual left-to-right rule for multiplication and division, the answer is 36.
That means the correct choice from the image is A.
But why do some people get 4?
The reason is the way the expression is written.
Some readers treat 2(3) as a single denominator, effectively reading the problem as 12 ÷ [2(3)] × 2.
If you calculate it that way, you get 12 ÷ 6 × 2, which equals 4.
That explains why answer B can look very convincing.
However, that interpretation requires treating the multiplication by 2 and the parentheses as being grouped together as part of the divisor.
There are no brackets around 2(6 − 7 + 4) in the original expression to explicitly indicate that grouping.
Under the conventional order of operations, multiplication and division are handled equally from left to right.
That leads us to 36.
This puzzle is therefore less about difficult arithmetic and more about carefully reading mathematical notation.
It is also a good reminder that parentheses do not automatically mean everything next to them belongs to the denominator of a division.
If the writer wanted the answer to clearly be 4, a less ambiguous version would be something like:
12 ÷ [2(6 − 7 + 4)] × 2
Clear brackets would remove the confusion.
So if you picked 36, your calculation follows the standard left-to-right convention.
If you picked 4, you noticed a genuine ambiguity in the way the expression was written.
The important lesson is to slow down, simplify the parentheses first, and then carefully apply the order of operations.
In this particular multiple-choice puzzle, the expected answer is A: 36.
