A mathematics question has been posted on Internet for the last several days, which is believed a question for third graders. However, hundreds of thousands of people still wonder how to solve the question.

The mathematics question is as follows: 6÷ 2 (1+2)=? Two answers have been given: 1 and 9. To date, Vietnamese people still cannot reach an agreement about which answer is considered the right one.

According to VTC, more than 120,000 Internet visitors had joined the solving of the mathematics question by late last week. Of these people, 68,115 people believe that the answer must be 9, while 51,686 said the answer must be 1.

A person with the nickname “Love – Autospy”, said that in principle, it is necessary to carry out the operations in the brackets first and then perform the multiplications and divisions in the order from left to right. “Therefore, the answer must be 9”.

Sharing the same view, another website visitor with the nickname “TTKC000” said multiplications and divisions must be done first, while additions and subtractions must be done later. Similarly, the operations in the brackets must be done before the other operations. Therefore, he believes that 9 is the right answer.

Meanwhile, “gwens83” believes that with the signs given in the question, it is necessary to follow the priority order, and that the answer must be 1.

In general, there have been two opposite sides. The first group includes the ones who believe that the right answer is 1, because the calculation could be written down under the mode of a fraction with “6” being the numerator and “2(1+2)” being denominator. Therefore, the answer must be 6 : 6 = 1.

“If you calculate with Casino FX500ms, you will get 1,” “vankiepsau” wrote.

It seems that the number of people who choose 9 as the right answer is higher than the number of people who choose 1. “The answer must be 9,” wrote Love_Autopsy.

However, there are also the people, who really do not know which answer is the right one. “If you use Google, you will get 9, but if you use calculator software (gcalctool 5.32.0), you will get 1,” “Keosoft90” wrote.

Some people believe that the question cannot be solved, because the question is not clear. “My teacher told me when I was a grammar school student that you will never be able to solve questions if they are unclear,” a member of an education forum said. Meanwhile, another member said he needs to reconsider the textbooks of his children, who are going to primary schools, to decide what to do with the question.

A person with the nickname “heroic” complained: “I would have to go to the first grade, because I cannot do the simple mathematics question”.

Due to the thorny question, on Linkhay forum, a member of the forum with the nickname “Dora”, has called for the “intervention” of Mathematics Professor Ngo Bao Chau, who has won the Fields Medal in mathematics to help solve the controversial question and stop the prolonged argue among Internet user community.

Dr. Le Thong Nhat calls this an “interesting phenomenon” where such a simple mathematics question can attract so many people’s attention, while ½ of them gives wrong answers.

According to Nhat, the question needs to be solved by applying normal principles, and the answer is 9.

When explained why so many people gave wrong answers, Nhat said that parents may have forgotten principles.

C. V