Test: Will you be able to solve this little operation? The best have made a mistake.
Easy, isn't it? Yet, very quickly, all those who tried have come up with two very different solutions: for one part, the result is 16, while for the other there is no doubt that the answer is 1.
The answer is 1:
(2+2) = 4
8/2(4)
You must first get rid of the parentheses
2(4)=8
8/8=1 the answer is 1
The source of the mistakes we make is often the speed with which we want to find the solution. In the case of this test, the mathematical operations normally obey an order - commonly called PEMDAS - to allow us to find the solution.
"But that's not the right answer. »
A basic rule on operational priorities that is also used in France, as specified on the site mathématiquesfaciles.com. In its dedicated space for level 5e exercises, the platform writes that "in a sequence of multiplications and divisions, calculations are made in the order of writing".
So, once and for all the answer would be :
2+2=4, 8:2=4 and 4×4=16.
