At first glance, this looks like a simple math problem.
200 − 50 × 3 + 25
Easy, right?
That’s exactly why so many people get it wrong.
The human brain loves shortcuts. When we see numbers lined up like this, we instinctively start solving from left to right.
So most people do something like:
200 − 50 = 150
150 × 3 = 450
450 + 25 = 475
And just like that… they’re completely wrong.
The trick here isn’t intelligence.
It’s discipline.
You have to follow one simple rule that most people forget under pressure:
👉 Order of operations (PEMDAS)
Which means:
- Multiplication comes before addition and subtraction
So let’s do it the correct way:
Step 1: Multiply first
50 × 3 = 150
Step 2: Now solve left to right
200 − 150 = 50
50 + 25 = 75
✅
Final Answer: 75
