This seemingly simple math equation has Twitterati hooked and in splits at the same time

“You probably won’t believe it but the answer is 5!” the tweet added. With more than 50,000 likes at the time of writing the copy, the tweet went viral garnering an array of reactions.

A maths meme that is actually funny rather than stupid:
Solve carefully!
230 – 220 x 0.5 =

You probably won’t believe it but the answer is 5!#maths

— KJ Cheetham ❄️ #FBPE 🔶 (@kj_cheetham) July 13, 2019

With hilarious memes and GIFs, people tried to solve the equation but couldn’t match his answer.

pic.twitter.com/WbqYzPcJsU

— 🍊TonyRockyHorror🍊 (@maroleon111) July 15, 2019

pic.twitter.com/J0nengjka4

— brb pouncing and seizing (@becomingworthy) July 14, 2019

“Sometimes, Winston. Sometimes they are five. Sometimes they are three. Sometimes they are all of them at once. You must try harder. It is not easy to become sane.”

😜

— Share And Enjoy (@Go_SYH_In_A_Pig) July 14, 2019

As a mathematician, your credentials are impeccable. As a grammarian, you need a little work.

— Thomas Goebel (@TomGoebelPMP) July 14, 2019

Ambiguously worded question:

(230-220) x 0.5 = 5
230 – (220 x 0.5) = 120

— Richard Bentall #FBPE (@RichardBentall) July 13, 2019

pic.twitter.com/etxyf0U63p

— Valuable 🥕👙 #FBB (@Valuable2017) July 14, 2019

No, it’s 42. Because that’s the answer to Life, the Universe, and the Rest.

— Erick Staal (@ErickStaal) July 13, 2019

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In case, you haven’t figured out the answer yet, here is the solution. There is a twist in the post, as the user mentioned the answer is not just 5 but “5!”

Yes, for the unknown, the exclamation mark used after five is actually a symbol for factorial. In mathematics, the factorial of a positive integer is denoted by ‘n!’. It is the product of all positive integers less than or equal to n. Meaning, in this case, for 5!, it’s actually — 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1, and the answer is 120.

Very true – the answer is 5!

— KJ Cheetham ❄️ #FBPE 🔶 (@kj_cheetham) July 13, 2019

5! = 5x4x3x2x1 = 120

— KJ Cheetham ❄️ #FBPE 🔶 (@kj_cheetham) July 13, 2019

When people finally got the joke, they totally loved it and praised the man.

omg I LOVE THIS GIVE ME MORE https://t.co/v9UwJq7XtQ

— Kimi 💜 (@randomsupergirl) July 15, 2019

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂😂😂😂ok this is a nice one 🙌🏿🙌🏿🙌🏿 https://t.co/GiODjJZBdC

— Chimwemwe Mukuka’s ❤ (@Bwalyamule_nga) July 15, 2019

It took me two minutes to get the joke. 🤭 #slowmonday https://t.co/J1Te5CqoEz

— Gary Cohen (@streetographer) July 15, 2019

This is funny, especially reading replies of those who know the answer but don’t get it that he is actually correct. Lol https://t.co/sDkgrFEztp

— Haji Thanos (@OlakunleSaid) July 15, 2019

This actually portrays such an important message about how people are so quick to call others wrong despite not misinformed or uneducated
(The Answer Is Acc 5!) https://t.co/9brGSoao4t

— umar (@_umarh) July 15, 2019

I see what you did there https://t.co/WxzwWinXu4

— Stank Hill (@bmore_thought) July 15, 2019

pic.twitter.com/OOsoqTpGLO

— Lestari NS (@Lestari_NS8) July 14, 2019

One could argue that concluding a tweet-sentence (as opposed to a book sentence) without punctuation IS good grammar.

— Henry Fitzgerald (@HenryTarquin) July 14, 2019

Remarkably, it’s also 5 x 4!

— Michael E. Mann (@MichaelEMann) July 14, 2019

Your sloppy punctuation is a trap ;-) There should really be a stop after 5! so as to disambiguate the factorial operator.

— Very Bad German (@dozykraut) July 14, 2019

Very clever, and funny. I overlooked the factorial notation and failed dismally.

— Jeremy Thompson #FAB (@jeremybear123) July 13, 2019

🤣🤣🤣

— KJ Cheetham ❄️ #FBPE 🔶 (@kj_cheetham) July 13, 2019