At first glance, the equation 50 − 5 × 10 + 5 looks incredibly simple. It’s the kind of problem most people would solve in seconds without thinking twice. But surprisingly, this exact expression has been going viral online because so many people are getting different answers.

So what’s going on?

The confusion comes from the order of operations—a basic math rule many people remember loosely but don’t always apply correctly. According to PEMDAS (Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication and Division, Addition and Subtraction), multiplication must be done before addition and subtraction.

Let’s solve it step by step:

First, handle multiplication:

5 × 10 = 50

Now the equation becomes:

50 − 50 + 5

Next, move left to right:

50 − 50 = 0

0 + 5 = 5

So the correct answer is 5.

Many people incorrectly go from left to right immediately and subtract first, which leads to the wrong result. That’s exactly why problems like this explode online—they expose how easily small mistakes can happen, even with basic math.

It’s not about intelligence—it’s about slowing down and following the rules.

So… did you get 5, or did this one trick you?