At first glance, this equation looks almost too easy: 8 × 8 + 8 × 4 = ? Yet many people rush through it and arrive at the wrong answer. The handwritten note even warns, “Answer is: NOT 80.” 👀 So what makes this simple equation surprisingly tricky?
The confusion usually comes from forgetting the order of operations. Some people calculate from left to right without considering which operation should come first. However, multiplication and addition do not have the same priority. Under the standard PEMDAS/BODMAS rules, multiplication must be completed before addition.
Start by solving each multiplication separately. First, 8 × 8 = 64. Then calculate 8 × 4 = 32. The original equation is now much easier to solve: 64 + 32. 🧠✨
Finally, add the two results together: 64 + 32 = 96. 🎯 So the correct answer is 96, not 80. The challenge wasn’t really the numbers—it was remembering the basic rule that multiplication comes before addition. Did you get 96 on your first try? 👀
