Tuesday, March 26

This is the only solution to the viral mathematical challenge of the moment



“The solution is 9!” “No, the correct answer is 1!” The viral mathematical challenge 6÷2(1+2) has been generating debates on Twitter, Facebook and other social networks for years due to its 2 apparent possible solutions. 9 or 1? What is the correct solution? A mathematician who explains riddles and riddles on YouTube reveals the only official answer.

Surely in recent years you have come across this viral challenge on more than one occasion. And almost certainly you have ended up involved in a heated debate about its solution.

This mathematical puzzle has been swarming through social networks since approximately 2015, and every time it appears it unleashes the controversy. Some say that the indisputable solution is 9. Others assert that the only possible answer is 1.

9 or 1. Which of the 2 solutions is the correct one for the challenge 6÷2(1+2)? And why is this debate generated? Why do both sides seem so sure they’re right?

Are you able to solve these math problems?

To clarify the matter, and justify what is the only solution, the mathematician Presh Talwalkar has made a video explaining the controversy behind 6÷2(1+2). Specifically, this mathematician, who studied at Stanford, has posted this video on his well-known YouTube channel MindYourDecisionswhere he proposes puzzles, riddles and challenges, both logical and mathematical.

Do you want to know, then, what is the correct solution to the viral challenge 6÷2(1+2)? and find out if you are on the winning or losing side?

The correct solution to the viral challenge 6÷2(1+2) (and the reason for so much debate about it)

In his explanation, Talwalkar states that, to solve any type of mathematical operation, one must use the current order of operations known as PEMDAS.

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acronyms do reference to the order in which each part of an operation must be solved.

  1. Parentheses / brackets
  2. Exponents (powers, square roots…)
  3. Multiplication and division (from left to right)
  4. Addition and subtraction (from left to right)

The correct way to solve the mathematical problem 6÷2(1+2) consists of use this order of operations.

1+2 is inside a parenthesis. So it is the operation that will be solved first.

1+2=3.

So the challenge now has the following form: 6÷2(3).

The 3 inside the parentheses can be converted to multiplication. So the problem now looks like this: 6÷2×3.

There are, therefore, 2 pending operations. One division and one multiplication. Here the order of the factors will alter the result… which operation to solve first?

According to the PEMDAS order of operations, the operations of the same category must be solved from left to right. Multiplications and divisions are in the same category, so the division must be solved first, since it is the one that is furthest to the left.

6÷2=3.

The challenge is now in this way: 3×3. You just have to finish this multiplication.

3×3=9.

9 is the correct solution if the modern PEMDAS order is taken into account. Now, why is there so much controversy with this mathematical problem?

The controversy of this viral challenge arises because there is another correct solution… according to an old rule dating back to the early 20th century and now obsolete.

See what happens if you solve this challenge using the classical method.

The first step is the same as before: you have to solve the operations in parentheses first or brackets.

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So 1+2=3 and so we get 6÷2(3).

This is where the debate begins. The mathematician explains it in his video: “There are old textbooks that said that if you have the division symbol ÷ in an operation, what you have to do is divide everything to the left of the ÷ symbol with everything to its right. As if it were a fraction. That is, the symbol ÷ would be interpreted as a substitute for the /, symbol of a fraction”.

Visually, according to this old rule, the challenge 6÷2(3) can be interpreted as 6/2(3).

So if a person uses this old rule (“which is an exception that is no longer used anymore”), it will divide the result of 2(3) by 6.

In other words, multiply 2×3 to give 6. And the operation is thus 6÷6.

6÷6=1.

Many people argue that 1 is the correct solution to this mathematical challenge, and there is some historical justification about it because of the way textbooks used to use the ÷ symbol“.

This content-creating mathematician hypothesizes that, in the past, it was easier to type the symbol ÷ than the symbol /. But today this interpretation is no longer necessary.

“Today ÷ is no longer used as a substitute for /, it is a practice that has quickly fallen into disuse because it can lead to confusion. Currently, if you want to present a fraction, you use /, just like that”.

Conclusion: the correct solution of this challenge is 9, but there is a historical justification that can lead to finding 1 as a possible solution. “However, 1 is not the solution because it is the result of interpreting certain symbols in a way that is already obsolete.”

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This article was originally published on Business Insider ES.

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