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A simple puzzle at first glance, isn’t it? Yet, a large portion of people fall into the trap. Why? Because they rush into it and ignore a fundamental rule of mathematics: the order of operations. But do you really know this rule?
Common mistake: solving from left to right
Imagine that you treat this equation as a text to be read line by line. So you start by adding:
2 + 2 = 4, then you multiply:
4 × 2 = 8.
Bottom line: 8? Wrong! If you’ve fallen into this trap, don’t worry: you’re not alone. This linear reasoning is a common mistake, but it breaks an essential rule that we learn in middle school.
The real solution: priority to multiplication
To solve this equation correctly, you must follow a very specific rule: the order of operations. This rule, often summarized in French as PEMDAS (Parenthèses, Exponents, Multiplication and Division, Addition and Subtraction), determines the order of the steps to be performed:
Parentheses
Exponents (if any)
Multiplication and Division (left to right)
Addition and Subtraction (left to right)
Let’s apply this rule to our equation:
Identify the priority operations: here, multiplication.
2 × 2 = 4
Then perform the addition:
2 + 4 = 6
So the correct result is 6, not 8.
Why are these puzzles so fascinating?
Read more on the next page
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