Sixth-grade math problem leaves the internet confused... can you solve it?
PEMDAS has plagued many in elementary school math classes, but how many Americans remember how to use the acronym to solve problems?
A simple sixth-grade math equation went viral on X for stumping adults who forgot how to solve a basic problem.
'Can you solve this!?' one X user asked their followers.
The problem read: 16 - 4 ÷ 4 - 4.
The comment section blew up with some internet users claiming the answer was 11, while others saying that it was -1.
A few X users even claimed the answer was 12, some said 0, one answered 13, and another came to the answer of 6.
To solve the equation, you have to reach back into the depths of your brain and use PEMDAS, which stands for Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition and Subtraction.
The acronym represents the correct order to complete a math problem with multiple functions, starting by solving what's in between parentheses.
So, can you solve the sixth-grade math problem?
The correct answer to the equation is 11.
To get the answer, four is first divided by itself because division comes before subtraction in PEMDAS.
Four divided by four is one, which now makes the problem 16 - 1 - 4.
Next is just simple subtraction.
Moving left to right, 16 - 1 = 15 and 15 - 4 = 11; thus, the answer to the tricky problem is 11.
Many users who got -1 made the mistake of going in order instead of starting with division.
If you started the equation by subtracting four from 16, you would've ended up with 12 ÷ 4 - 4.
12 ÷ 4 = 3 and 3 - 4 = -1.
The math problem was posted to X, and internet users were divided on the correct answer
Those who accidentally came up with 12, 0, 13, or 6 may've made an error when subtracting or dividing.
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Thu 5 Jun Game 1: Pacers at Thunder, 8.30pm Sun 8 Jun Game 2: Pacers at Thunder, 8pm Wed 11 Jun Game 3: Thunder at Pacers, 8.30pm Fri 13 Jun Game 4: Thunder at Pacers, 8.30pm Mon 16 Jun Game 5: Pacers at Thunder, 8.30pm* Thu 19 Jun Game 6: Thunder at Pacers, 8.30pm* Sun 22 Jun Game 7: Pacers at Thunder, 8pm* *-if necessary How to watch In the US, all games will air on ABC. Streaming options include or the ABC app (with a participating TV provider login), as well as Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, fuboTV, DIRECTV STREAM, and Sling TV (via ESPN3 for ABC games). NBA League Pass offers replays, but live finals games are subject to blackout restrictions in the US. In the UK, the games will be available on TNT Sports and Discovery+. As for streaming, NBA League Pass will provide live and on-demand access to all Finals games without blackout restrictions. In Australia, the games will broadcast live on ESPN Australia. Kayo Sports and Foxtel Now will stream the games live, while NBA League Pass will offer live and on-demand access without blackout restrictions. They need to keep playing fast and take care of the ball. It's something they are remarkably good at: they have the third-lowest turnover rate in the league. But they're up against a turnover juggernaut and an outstanding transition defense. This could be an irresistible-force-v-immovable-object type of deal. RB While they're an indisputably great team, Pacers are, in many ways, a lesser version of their finals adversary, the Thunder. To win it all, their best players are going to have to bring it. They need sensational star performances from Siakam and Haliburton, and they need them nightly. That, and to not turn the ball over. That's something they're typically fantastic at, but that the Thunder are even more fantastic at disrupting. CDL Keep the ball moving and keep their composure. 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What's not to love? RB There's this weird, very online plague of the 'Couch GM' that seems to be constantly preoccupied with NBA ratings, as if they directly affect their own lives in any meaningful way. The truth is, they don't even affect the NBA itself much: a new $76bn television rights deal was just negotiated and expansion is coming. The league will be just fine, even if the casual fan doesn't find an Indianapolis v Oklahoma City final scintillating. True basketball diehards know this should be a wildly entertaining series. CDL Only if you think TV ratings matter more than basketball. This is a stylistic dream matchup between two fearless, homegrown teams. The NBA should celebrate franchises that built smartly and play joyfully. This series is a vindication of substance over star-chasing. BAG Only for the small-minded. Indiana have an NBA pedigree and a state basketball lore that would make for an epic underdog story and a great redemption story for Rick Carlisle, who may well have won his lone NBA title in his first stint with the Pacers if the Malice at the Palace hadn't happened. As for Oklahoma City, they certainly didn't have trouble attracting a crowd when Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden were leading the championship charge. (Sure, they were facing the Heatles, but still.) Even old-timers like me, who still feel like this slickly run operation should be in Seattle, won't be able to stay away just because we've been invested in this story for too long and need to see where it ends. AL Mark Daigneault was Coach of the Year in 2024 and probably should have won it again this year. But Rick Carlisle is a former Coach of the Year, too. And although his award came more than two decades ago, his work in Indiana has proven he remains one of the league's best. And Carlisle has one thing that Daigneault does not: championship experience. The edge goes to the old guy. RB This one is actually a push. Carlisle obviously has the more storied resumé and the championship pedigree, but Daigneault's Coach of the Year win last season was well deserved: he's done a bang-up job of getting the youngest roster in the NBA to buy into the egoless, defense-driven identity that made them a 68-win team on the doorstep of a championship. CDL Mark Daigneault, just. Carlisle may have the best total body of work of any coach that's not in the Hall of Fame (yet), but Daigneault's adaptability and calm control have guided OKC's young core beyond expectations. He's leaned into their defensive versatility and late-game composure: two areas that could tilt the margins in a long series. BAG Mark Daigneault. He who has the most best players has the advantage. AL Aaron Nesmith came into the league with a reputation as a deadly three-point shooter, only for his shooting to desert him in his first stop in Boston. With the Pacers, he's reinvented himself as a lockdown wing defender who plays with OKC-like intensity. And he came make shots now, too. RB Andrew Nembhard, the third year guard out of Gonzaga, is probably a name with which the average NBA fan is unfamiliar. But if the Pacers are able to pull off a shocking upset in this series, it will almost certainly be, in part, due to Nembhard's key contributions on the defensive end. The defensive pest had Jalen Brunson in the seventh circle of hell in the Eastern Conference finals, and he'll need to bring the same pressure against Gilgeous-Alexander for Indiana to have a chance in this series. CDL Jalen Williams. Everyone talks about his defense and playmaking, but he's due for a scoring breakout. With Indiana selling out on SGA, Williams will feast on open threes and scrambled closeouts. 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In his two regular-season games against Indiana, he averaged 39 points (on 56% shooting), seven boards and eight assists against one turnover – total. Put simply: this is his year, and he won't be denied. AL Thunder in five. They've been utterly dominant all season. That's mostly been the case for the playoffs too, allowing for some Jokić magic in the second round. The Pacers have been a ton of fun to watch, have impressive depth and a rising star in Haliburton. But the Thunder are deeper, more talented and have the best player in the series – that's a recipe for a gentleman's sweep. RB Thunder in five. If the Pacers had drawn literally any other Western Conference foe, I would give them a better chance in this series. But unfortunately for Indiana, they drew, in my estimation, the far better version of themselves. Indiana is great at forcing turnovers: Oklahoma City do that better. Indiana take great care of the ball: OKC even moreso. 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If they can turn it into a track meet while taking care of the ball like they have all year, Indiana's chaos could outlast OKC's control. BAG Thunder in five. Again: they're loaded, high-energy, extremely well-coached and hungry as hell. Denver needed the world's best player to take OKC to seven games. While the Pacers have their virtues, and a bona fide go-to guy in Halliburton, they don't have enough to stop a team that seems like it has been on an inexorable march toward a championship since the season tipped off in October. For me, the question isn't if Thunder will win, but whether GM Sam Presti can keep this squad together long enough to make a dynastic run for the ages. AL
