This one is division! Can you solve a “simple” math problem that brought the internet to a standstill?
A simple algebra equation has left people divided on the correct process to solve it, with two methods resulting in two completely different answers.
The debate around the problem depends on the order of operations people should use to solve it.
Contemporary equation solving leads people to approach the problem according to PEMDAS – meaning they must first tackle what is in parentheses (P), then the exponents (E), followed by multiplication or division (MD), addition, and finally subtraction (ASH). .
The EM and the MD are considered to be of equal importance, and if one of those pairs is all that remains in an equation, the problem should be tackled from left to right.
But a different order of operations – going back to how algebra equations were solved more than 100 years ago – creates an entirely different solution to the problem.
Below is the comparison, give it a try before reading further:
The equation divides people on the right way to solve it, which affects the answer
According to today’s PEMDAS standards, the correct process for solving the equation is first what is in parentheses.
So 1+2 becomes 3, and the equation becomes 6 ÷ 2 (3). The parenthesis around the three tells it to be multiplied by what’s before it, so the equation translates to 6 ÷ 2 x 3.
Since multiplication and division have the same precedence, the equation must then be solved from left to right: 6 ÷ 2 becomes 3, making the equation 3 x 3, resulting in a correct solution of 9.
Nine is the answer, but by old standards of how equations were written, one could arrive at a solution of 1.
Under the old route, people would still address the parenthesis first, resulting in 6 ÷ 2 (3).
But old formatting — which Phresh Talwalkar of the puzzle website Mind Your Decisions believes may have been used to work with typesetting and printing formatting from the day — instructed people to use what’s on the left side of the division sign (the obelus), dividing it by the sum of what was to the right of it. Talwalkar said he saw this approach to the order of operations in 1917 textbooks.
By those standards, people would first solve for 2 x 3, resulting in 6, and then divide 6 by 6, resulting in an answer of 1.
Another problem could be following modern PEMDAS, but forgetting to solve from left to right when operations of the same precedent persist. This would also result in an answer of 1.