PEMDAS and BODMAS: the rule that settles the debate
The correct approach relies on the order of operations, known by the acronyms PEMDAS (Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction) in the United States, or BODMAS in the United Kingdom and several other countries.
Both frameworks establish the same priority: multiplication must be performed before addition, regardless of where the multiplication sign appears in the expression.
Applied here, that means tackling 40 × 0 first. The result is 0. The expression then simplifies to 40 + 0 + 1, which is solved left to right: 40 + 0 = 40, then 40 + 1 = 41.
The correct answer is B) 41 — and here is the full breakdown
Step by step: 40 × 0 = 0 (multiplication first). Then 40 + 0 + 1, solved left to right: 40 + 0 = 40, and 40 + 1 = 41.
The answer is therefore B) 41 — not 0, not 1, and not 80.
The puzzle joins a long tradition of classic school problems repurposed as social media challenges, where the combination of apparent simplicity and a hidden rule reliably generates debate in comment sections.
