The internet is torn over an elementary-level math equation, with people suggesting conflicting answers based on their approaches.
X users have weighed in on the basic algebra problem – but only a handful were able to pull off the proper arithmetic.
In order to get the correct answer, one has to follow PEMDAS – a concept typically taught in fifth or sixth grade under the Common Core Curriculum.
PEMDAS is an acronym for the order of operations to solve an equation.
Anything inside parenthesis (P) should be worked out first. Secondly, exponents (E) should be addressed.
Next should be multiplication and division (MD), but multiplication does not necessarily have to come before division. The correct method is to address them from left to right as the are written in the equation.
Lastly, addition and subtraction (AS). When only those two operations remain, the sum can be solved from left to right because the order makes no difference.
Below is the equation, give it a try before reading on:
Damien Scott shared the math problem on X a couple of weeks ago sparking a furious debate
Among X users who were not briefed with a math lesson before tackling the calculations, the most popular wrong answer was 5, which is the solution found when PEMDAS is ignored and the problem is just from solved left to right.
Applying PEMDAS, the first step is to multiply and divide because there are no parenthesis or exponents. After solving 3 x 3 and 3 ÷ 3, the equation becomes 9 – 1 + 3.
From there, some simple addition and subtraction reveals the final result of 11.
Since the X post shared by Damien Scott does not include the verified answer, people debated about their results and methods in the comment section.
‘No need over try! It’s simple! 5,’ one man confidently shared about his wrong answer.
Another man who believed the solution was 5 appeared to have had the right idea, but the wrong execution.
‘Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally,’ he wrote as a way to remember PEMDAS.
He clumsily continued: ‘If you have 5 as your answer then you are right.’
The correct method to solve the equation is by using PEMDAS
Although 5 was the most common incorrect solution, others had different ideas in mind.
‘Zero or one and I’m not budging,’ one woman incorrectly asserted.
In order to get the inaccurate result of 0, one would have to solves the equation from right to left. To get 1, the woman may have first multiplied 3 x 3 to get 9, then subtracted 3 from 9 to get 6.
After that, she would have had to done 3 + 3 to get 6, leaving the equation as 6 ÷ 6, which equals 1.
One person, who ended up with the right answer, explained why these kinds of sums can be tricky.
‘It’s probably 11, but I hate problems like this because a division sign is supposed to be the same as a fraction bar which automatically puts both things on either side of the division sign in parentheses,’ they expressed their confusion.
