Math riddles often go viral because they look so simple yet hide clever tricks that force you to think carefully, and one of the latest challenges spreading across the internet is the equation 6 – 1 × 0 + 3 ÷ 3 = ?. At first glance, most people rush to solve it quickly and end up with the wrong result because they forget the most important classroom rule: the order of operations, also known as PEMDAS or BODMAS.
This rule reminds us to always handle parentheses first, then exponents, then multiplication and division from left to right, and finally addition and subtraction from left to right. Looking closely at this puzzle, the first step is to solve the multiplication and division before anything else: 1×0=01 × 0 = 01×0=0 and 3÷3=13 ÷ 3 = 13÷3=1.
Now the equation is simplified to 6 – 0 + 1. Next, we move left to right with the remaining operations: 6–0=66 – 0 = 66–0=6, and then 6+1=76 + 1 = 76+1=7.
That means the correct answer is 7, even though many people mistakenly guess 6 or another number because they skip the rules and solve it in the wrong order. What makes this puzzle fun is how it mixes nostalgia with competition—it feels like a trip back to middle school math class, while at the same time challenging your focus and attention to detail. Solving it correctly is a small victory and a reminder that even the simplest problems demand patience, logic, and a little brain power.