Simple arithmetic posted on X sparks debate; correct answer is 16, experts say

A simple arithmetic expression posted on X this week prompted a lively online debate over the correct answer, with commenters giving a wide range of results before mathematicians and educators reiterated the standard rule that yields 16.

The post, shared by user @BholanathDutta, showed the equation 14 ÷ 7 + 7 × 2 = ?. Replies ranged from 2 to 81, and many users disputed one another on the correct procedure. The disagreement underscored continuing confusion about the order of operations taught in elementary and middle school.

Under the conventional order of operations—often remembered by the mnemonic PEMDAS, for Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication and Division, Addition and Subtraction—the correct approach is to evaluate multiplication and division before addition, treating multiplication and division as having equal precedence and resolving them left to right. Applying that rule to the expression yields 16.

Computed step by step, 14 ÷ 7 + 7 × 2 becomes 2 + 14, because 14 ÷ 7 equals 2 and 7 × 2 equals 14; adding those two results gives 16. Multiplication is not inherently superior to division in the standard convention, and when both appear they are carried out in the order they occur from left to right.

The thread included a number of other answers that illustrate common misapplications of order-of-operations rules. One frequent incorrect result, 18, arises when a solver evaluates the expression strictly left to right as if all operators had equal precedence and the entire sequence were grouped, for example, as ((14 ÷ 7) + 7) × 2. That method multiplies after performing the addition and produces 18. Other incorrect answers stem from ad hoc grouping or performing addition before multiplication.

Educators say such viral puzzles expose a persistent need to reinforce the underlying principles, not only the mnemonic. "PEMDAS is a helpful memory aid but can mislead if people think it prescribes a strict left-to-right hierarchy of operations rather than recognizing that multiplication and division share the same priority," said a mathematics teacher reached by email. The same holds for addition and subtraction.

The debate on X reflects a pattern that periodically surfaces online: ostensibly simple arithmetic problems generate disproportionate disagreement because many readers rely on surface-level recollections of school rules or apply reading conventions such as strict left-to-right processing. Mathematics curricula typically introduce the order of operations in upper elementary or early middle school grades and emphasize equal precedence for multiplication and division.

While the arithmetic in the viral post is elementary, the episode demonstrates how small ambiguities in notation or memory can lead to widespread confusion. The correct resolution under the standard convention is 16, but the vigorous online dispute highlights that clear teaching and occasional refreshers are useful even for basic topics.