{"id":21456,"date":"2026-10-01T20:36:54","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T20:36:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thepatswalk.com\/?p=21456"},"modified":"2026-10-01T20:36:54","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T20:36:54","slug":"the-tricky-math-puzzle-answer-is-not-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thepatswalk.com\/?p=21456","title":{"rendered":"The Tricky Math Puzzle: Answer is NOT 18!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Have you ever come across a simple math problem on social media that makes everyone debate in the comments?<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-5\"><\/div>\n<p>Today, let\u2019s look at a very famous viral handwritten math puzzle.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-96601 td-animation-stack-type2-2\" src=\"https:\/\/teachmelife.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/0b40c05383225efd014cf64e014fed2e.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/teachmelife.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/0b40c05383225efd014cf64e014fed2e.jpg 960w, https:\/\/teachmelife.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/0b40c05383225efd014cf64e014fed2e-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/teachmelife.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/0b40c05383225efd014cf64e014fed2e-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/teachmelife.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/0b40c05383225efd014cf64e014fed2e-768x960.jpg 768w, https:\/\/teachmelife.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/0b40c05383225efd014cf64e014fed2e-336x420.jpg 336w, https:\/\/teachmelife.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/0b40c05383225efd014cf64e014fed2e-640x800.jpg 640w, https:\/\/teachmelife.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/0b40c05383225efd014cf64e014fed2e-681x851.jpg 681w\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"1200\" \/><\/p>\n<div data-cptid=\"1589951_teachmelife.net_Inpage\">\n<div id=\"1589951_teachmelife.net_Inpage\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-6\"><\/div>\n<p>The puzzle shows a simple expression: 90 \u00f7 10 + 7 \u00d7 2.<\/p>\n<p>At first glance, it looks like a basic math problem from elementary school.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-7\"><\/div>\n<p>However, the note above the equation boldly claims: \u201cAnswer is NOT 18!\u201d.<\/p>\n<div data-cptid=\"1502303_teachmelife.net_300x600_1\">\n<div id=\"1502303_teachmelife.net_300x600_1\" data-gninstavoid=\"\"><iframe id=\"gnpbad_1502303\" width=\"300\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" data-aladdin-format=\"true\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Is that statement actually true, or is it just a clever trick to confuse us?<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s break down the logic step by step using the standard rules of mathematics.<\/p>\n<p>In mathematics, there is a fundamental rule called the order of operations, often remembered as PEMDAS or BODMAS.<\/p>\n<div data-cptid=\"1502301_teachmelife.net_300x250_2\">\n<div id=\"1502301_teachmelife.net_300x250_2\" data-gninstavoid=\"\"><iframe id=\"gnpbad_1502301\" width=\"300\" height=\"250\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" data-aladdin-format=\"true\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>This rule tells us which operation to perform first when solving an equation.<\/p>\n<p>According to this rule, multiplication and division must always be done before addition and subtraction.<\/p>\n<p>When we have both multiplication and division in the same expression, we simply solve them from left to right.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s apply this rule directly to our math puzzle.<\/p>\n<p>First, look at the division part: 90 \u00f7 10.<\/p>\n<p>When you divide 90 by 10, you get 9.<\/p>\n<p>Next, look at the multiplication part: 7 \u00d7 2.<\/p>\n<p>When you multiply 7 by 2, you get 14.<\/p>\n<p>Now, let\u2019s substitute these two results back into our original equation.<\/p>\n<p>The equation becomes a very simple addition: 9 + 14.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-12\">\n<div id=\"238613589\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Finally, we add these two numbers together: 9 + 14 equals 23.<\/p>\n<p>So, the mathematically correct answer to the equation is 23.<\/p>\n<p>Now, let\u2019s address the statement in the picture: \u201cAnswer is NOT 18!\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Why would someone think the answer is 18 in the first place?<\/p>\n<p>If you make the common mistake of calculating strictly from left to right without following PEMDAS, you will get a completely wrong answer.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s see what happens if someone makes that mistake.<\/p>\n<p>First, they calculate 90 \u00f7 10, which gives 9.<\/p>\n<p>Then, they add 7 to 9, which gives 16.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, they multiply 16 by 2, which gives 32.<\/p>\n<p>Wait, even if you solve it incorrectly from left to right, you get 32, not 18!<\/p>\n<p>So how could anyone possibly get 18?<\/p>\n<p>Some people might make another error, such as adding before multiplying and dividing.<\/p>\n<p>If you calculate 10 + 7 first, you get 17, which still leads nowhere near 18.<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, no matter which common calculation method or mistake you use, the result is never 18.<\/p>\n<p>This makes the statement \u201cAnswer is NOT 18!\u201d absolutely correct in every single way!<\/p>\n<p>The text in the picture is 100% accurate because 23 is definitely not equal to 18.<\/p>\n<p>In conclusion, following the proper math rules leads us directly to the true result.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The final correct answer to this puzzle is 23.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"wpdevar_comment_2\">Comment your answer below <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"emoji\" role=\"img\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/svg\/1f447.svg\" alt=\"\ud83d\udc47\" \/><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Have you ever come across a simple math problem on social media that makes everyone debate in the comments? Today, let\u2019s look at a very <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/thepatswalk.com\/?p=21456\" title=\"The Tricky Math Puzzle: Answer is NOT 18!\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepatswalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepatswalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepatswalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepatswalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepatswalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21456"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thepatswalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21457,"href":"https:\/\/thepatswalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21456\/revisions\/21457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepatswalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepatswalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepatswalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}