Friday, September 21, 2018

Many people aren't able to solve this math problem. What about you?

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Ah, mathematics. Depending on who you ask, the subject can be either a fun way to pass the time, the most fascinating thing there is, or – for a great many people – a synonym of naptime. No matter what it is, there are often little tests and quizzes that float around on the internet, bringing you back to your middle school days, no matter how far away those were.

One such test has been making the rounds lately, and has gotten a lot of people's attention. Now it's your turn to dig deep in your memory and find those old mathematical rules buried beneath the rubble that will allow you to make your way through complex formulas like this one.
At first sight, it seems like you might be able to just take these calculations one at a time, from left to right. But doesn't something seem wrong about that? Here's a hint: Does the phrase "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally" sound familiar? It's a mnemonic device for "PEMDAS," an important mathematical rule that must always be kept in mind when dealing with formulas like this.

PEMDAS actually stands for "Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication and Division, Addition and Subtraction," and it's the order in which you need to tackle such math exercises. Left to right and right to left will almost always give you a wrong result!

With that in mind, try getting through this exercise again. Let us know what you ended up with in the comments and SHARE this with your friends on Facebook to compare your results with them!

source: SF globe
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