Here’s a simple but tricky math puzzle:
5 × 5 − 5 + 5 ÷ 5 = ?
At first glance, the answer might seem confusing. But the key is to remember the order of operations, often called PEMDAS (Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication and Division, Addition and Subtraction). According to these rules, you first handle multiplication and division from left to right.
So, multiply 5 by 5 to get 25, and divide 5 by 5 to get 1. Now the equation looks like this:
25 − 5 + 1.
Next, subtract and add from left to right: 25 minus 5 is 20, plus 1 equals 21. That’s the final answer — 21! Can you solve it in under 10 seconds?