6 / 2 (1 + 2)

Recently such a mathematics question suddenly becoming a hit on and off the internet. Everybody seems to have the answer and everybody is confident of their answer. Various mathematics experts commented on it and it continues to be a hot topic.

The biggest problem with this question is the answer, 1 or 9. Some say 9 is the answer as:

6 / 2 (3) = 3 (3) = 9

which follows the order of operation, BODMAS which stand for branket, order, division and multiplication, addition and subtraction or PEMDAS which stand for parentheses, exponential, multiplication and division, addition and subtraction.

However, from my point of view, which I am certain I am correct, the answer should be 1.

WHY???

The reason is simple. Let me first tell you why 9 is incorrect. Most people think that since 2 is not in a parenthesis with (1+ 2), then we should do 6/2 first before multiply by 3 in the parenthesis but this is incorrect.

Any number before a parenthesis is called coefficient or parameter. In mathematics, we should solve the parameter first before solving other operation. To better emphasize my point, let's replace the (1 + 2) with (x), so the problem will be:

6 / 2 (x)

Now since 2 is the coefficient of x, so we should solve 2 (x) first which equals to 2x and then solve the rest which is

6 / 2x = 3 / x

Since x = 1 + 2 = 3, so

3 / 3 = 1