Come on, let’s go back in time and head to middle school classrooms! Remember those famous math classes where your teacher would endlessly repeat the rules of order of operations? If you’ve ever sighed at a mental math exercise, this challenge is for you. And it might just awaken your logical mind (or your competitive streak!).
Today’s challenge: a very simple calculation… or almost
Here is the operation you must solve, without a calculator , and if possible in less than 10 seconds. Ready?
6 – 1 × 0 + 3 ÷ 3
Easy? Wait a moment before you dive in headfirst, because there’s a small catch. And this is where your memories of middle school math can save the day.
The trick: remember the correct order
When several operations jostle in the same expression, there is a golden rule to know: the order of priorities . You may remember the famous acronym PEMDAS ? In French, we often speak of the following priority:
- Parentheses
- Exhibitors (which we don’t have here)
- Multiplication and division (from left to right)
- Additions and subtractions (also from left to right)
So, before doing anything, we start with the multiplications and divisions, respecting their order of appearance in the calculation .
