Viral math puzzles frequently dominate social media feeds because they look incredibly simple but hide a clever trap. The equation displayed is a perfect example, presenting a short problem: 5 + 3 \times 0! = ? Marked with the warning "70% fail," it actively baits people into making two very common mathematical blunders.
The first trap is the standard order of operations (PEMDAS/BODMAS). Many casual observers calculate from left to right, adding 5 and 3 to get 8, and then multiplying by 0. However, multiplication must always be performed before addition.
The second, much more devious trap is the exclamation mark after the zero (0!). In mathematics, this is not an exclamation of excitement—it is the symbol for a factorial. While a person's instinct might tell them that anything involving zero results in zero, the mathematical definition of zero factorial is actually equal to one (0! = 1).
Knowing this, we can solve the equation step-by-step:
Evaluate the Factorial: Replace 0! with 1. The equation becomes 5 + 3 \times 1.
Multiply First: Calculate 3 \times 1, which equals 3.
Add Last: Finally, calculate 5 + 3.
The true, definitive answer to the puzzle is 8.