math problem
Julie Hambleton
Julie Hambleton
August 14, 2023 ·  2 min read

How Good Are Your Math Skills? Test Them With This Tricky Problem

There’s another math problem floating around the internet testing people’s math skills. Do you know how to solve it?

Test Your Math Skills With This Equation

Math isn’t for everyone. Some of us take to numbers easily, others, such as myself, prefer words. That being said, math is an important subject and knowing how to do at least some simple math is an important life skill.

Unless you went into a field that requires you to use this subject daily, however, then chances are you don’t test your math skills very often anymore. Especially now that we have an actual calculator in our pocket or bag everywhere we go, chances are you don’t even bother trying.

If it’s been a while since you put your math skills to the test, then today is your lucky day! Check out this equation that’s got some people stumped and see if you can get the right answer.

Image Credit: Innerstrength

The Answer

Did you get it, or are you unsure?

I’ll tell you what the right answer is, then I’ll explain how you get there.

The correct answer is: 12.

The Process

The trick to getting this question right is using something that you may have not used since you were in grade school: BEDMAS (or PEMDAS).

This is an acronym for:

B – brackets
E – Exponents
D – Division
M – Multiplication
A – Addition
S – Subtraction

This is also known as The Order of Operations or the order in which you complete an equation.

In this case, we start with the bracketed portion: (8÷4) = 2

Next, we complete the other set of division: 24÷4 = 6

Lastly, we multiply 6×2 = 12.

If you forgot about bedmas, I am certain you will remember it from now on.

Other Math Problems

Now that you’ve got that one sorted, test your math skills further with these next few and see how you do!