Challenge yourself with a handwritten math equation that has been causing a massive debate online! It comes with a strict warning right at the top: “DON’T ANSWER TOO FAST!” It looks exactly like a problem you would have easily mastered in grade school, but it is defeating a surprising number of adults today.
The image demands you solve: 3 + 1 × 0 + 2.
The reason this puzzle trips people up is our lazy, ingrained instinct to read and calculate straight from left to right, just like reading a book. If you make that critical mistake here, you will add 3 and 1 to get 4, multiply that by 0 to get 0, and add the final 2 to end up with a completely incorrect 2. Do not fall for the arithmetic trap sitting right in the middle of the problem. Mathematics requires discipline, not just reading left to right.
To get the absolute correct answer, you must apply the fundamental rule of math: the order of operations. The rules firmly dictate that multiplication and division must always be completed before any addition and subtraction can take place. No exceptions are allowed.
Your very first step is to isolate and tackle the multiplication section. 1 × 0 simply gives you 0. Anything multiplied by zero is zero.
When you insert that zero back into the problem, the equation becomes perfectly clear and manageable: 3 + 0 + 2.
Now you are permitted to add the remaining numbers together from left to right. 3 plus 0 remains 3, and adding the final 2 brings you strictly and confidently to your final solution.
Answer: 5.
