“Easy Math Problem That Confuses Everyone | Can You Solve It Without a Calculator?”

Those “easy-looking” math sums that trip people up are usually written in a way that hides the real trick — mostly because of order of operations (BODMAS/PEMDAS).

Let’s take a classic example:

                                                                8 ÷ 2(2 + 2) = ?

At first glance, it looks simple, but people argue over whether the answer is 1 or 16.

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Step 1: Solve inside brackets

$$8 ÷ 2(2 + 2) = 8 ÷ 2(4)$$

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Step 2: Handle multiplication/division from left to right (BODMAS rule)

Now we have:

$$8 ÷ 2 × 4$$

Division and multiplication are equal priority, so we go left to right.

$$(8 ÷ 2) × 4 = 4 × 4 = 16$$

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Step 3: Why confusion happens

Some people mistakenly read it as:

$$8 ÷ [2(4)] = 8 ÷ 8 = 1$$

This is because the notation 2(4) looks like it’s glued together, leading people to treat it as a single denominator.

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✅ Correct answer (by conventional rules): 16

❌ Wrong but common answer: 1

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✨ Moral of the story: Even simple sums can confuse people if parentheses and operations aren’t crystal clear. That’s why math teachers always emphasize BODMAS/PEMDAS.