Following PEMDAS, 2 + 2 x 4 = 10

Suzy Woltmann

News

22nd July 2021

You just have to follow the order of operations (Getty Images).

The Claim

2 + 2 x 4 = 16

News posted on

Emerging story

On July 21, 2021, Twitter user Claudius posted a math equation with polled responses with the caption: “idek what stressed me out more, the fact that 26% somehow got 13 or the fact that the correct answer isn’t even an option.” The math equation was 2 + 2 x 4.

idek what stresses me out more, the fact that 26% somehow got 13 or the fact that the correct answer isn’t even an option pic.twitter.com/kdTGNmnomw
— Claudius (@xclaudius) July 22, 2021

The tweet was liked, shared, and discussed by thousands. Some claimed that the answer 16 is correct, since “we read left to right.”

It's not. It should be 16. We read left to right and it makes no sense to make math this stupidly frustrating. 2 + 2 = 4 and 4 x 4 = 16.

if it was 10, you'd get: 4 x 2 + 2 = 10

it makes absolutely no sense as to why it should be 10 here. The education system has failed ya'll.
— -_- (@howmuchIget) July 22, 2021

Others discussed PEMDAS and how to apply it.

Pemdas told y’all to do whatever is in the parenthesis first

There’s no parenthesis

It’s 16
— BiiNO (@SchlimDollaz) July 23, 2021

Pemdas parenthesis exponents multiplication division addition subtraction that’s the order in which you have to solve math problems so you would do 2x4 first bc there are no parenthesis or exponents so you do the multiplication 2x4 is 8 + 2 =10
— 👹Demon Del Rio 😈 (@666delrio) July 23, 2021

Misbar’s Analysis

PEMDAS is an acronym that shows the order of operations meant to be followed in a math equation. It stands for:

Parentheses

Exponents

Multiplication

Division

Addition

Subtraction.

If there are no parentheses, then you start with exponents; if no exponents, then multiplication; and so on. The acronym varies by region. Some call it BODMAS (Brackets, Order) while some call it GEMDAS (Grouping).

Although many social media users contend that the 2 + 2 x 4 equation should be solved going from left to right since many people read left to right, that is incorrect. Math is known as the “universal language,” and can be understood all over the world. Since linguistic languages and reading styles vary (for example, some languages are read right to left, or up and down), PEMDAS was instated to create a universal order of operations. According to TeachThought: “These conventions exist to eliminate notational ambiguity while allowing notation to be as brief as possible.”

Following PEMDAS (or BOMDAS or GEMDAS), 2 + 2 x 4 = 10. You multiply 2 and 4, which equals 8, and then add 2, which equals 10.