Recently, we came across a brand new brain teaser that has everyone stumped. In fact, most people can’t solve this math problem without using a calculator! So, let’s see if you are one of the smartest people in the world who can solve this by brainpower alone. Grab a pencil and piece of paper and see if you can find the answer to the question below.
Importance of Brain Teasers
Brain teasers and challenging logic puzzles are great for your brain. Do you know why? According to world-famous game creators, Escape London, “research shows that mental exercise that tests your brainpower with number or word puzzles may boost your brain’s activity. This reduces the risk of dementia, reduces day to day boredom and improves concentration and memory.”
Using your brain in challenging ways is the equivalent of giving your body a thorough workout. It’s an exercise for your mind! If you don’t keep active and give yourself little challenges here and there, you risk losing some mental agility as you get older. So, to help keep your brain fit, we have the perfect math problem to try out!
Can you Solve this Math Problem?
Think back to the days when you were in school. Remember those math classes where the teacher taught you about the importance of certain functions? Well, that little bit of nostalgia may help you with today’s challenging math problem. Let’s see how you do with this one!
Take a look at the image below, and do your best. Try to find the correct answer in under 1 minute. If you get the answer right, you can pretty much call yourself a genius!
At first glance, you may wonder what is so tricky about this math problem. It looks simple enough. However, that is part of the trick! The answer you may want to first give might not be right. Take your time, but not too long. Remember, you only have a minute to get the answer!
Time is almost up, how do you think you did? Are you ready to see if you got the correct solution? We have the answer for you below, scroll down to see how we reached it.
Solution
The solution to the math problem isn’t easy to achieve. You have to think back to school and remember what you learned about PEMDAS. What is PEMDAS? It’s the basic order of operations in mathematics! Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, and Division (from left to right), Addition and Subtraction (from left to right). If we follow that rule, we would get the answer of B:12. See a detailed answer below.
So, let’s start with the multiplication of 3×3. For that answer, we get 9. Then, the next step is simple! All you have to do is go left to right and follow the equation.
3 + 3 x 3 – 3 + 3
= 3 + 9 – 3 + 3
= 12 – 3 + 3
= 9 + 3
= 12
Did you get the right answer without using a calculator? If you enjoyed that puzzle, check these brain teasers out below:
