This short arithmetic challenge looks easy until someone works from left to right without checking the order of operations. The equation is 130 − 20 × 0 + 7 = ?, and the image gives a clue: the answer is not 110.
What is the correct answer?
The correct answer is 137. Multiplication must be handled before addition and subtraction.
Step-by-step solution
First calculate the multiplication: 20 × 0 = 0. The original expression becomes 130 − 0 + 7. Next subtract zero, leaving 130. Finally add 7.
130 − 0 + 7 = 137.
Why do people get this wrong?
Some people start by subtracting 20 from 130, then multiply the result by zero. That changes the structure of the expression and ignores the usual mathematical convention, sometimes called PEMDAS or BODMAS.
Remember: multiplication and division come before addition and subtraction. Once those operations are complete, evaluate the remaining additions and subtractions from left to right.
Try the calculation again without a calculator. The zero is the whole trick.
