What Is 8 – 8 * 8 + 8? The Correct Answer

The Viral Math Puzzle: Decoding $8 – 8 times 8 + 8$

Internet math riddles love to trip people up. Plastered across social media feeds, expressions that look deceptively simple often generate thousands of conflicting comments and fierce debates. One classic example of this phenomenon is the expression:

$8 – 8 times 8 + 8$

At first glance, it looks like a harmless string of eights. But try dropping this into a group chat, and you are bound to see a split in answers—often ranging from zero to negative forty-eight. Why does a basic arithmetic string cause so much confusion? Let us break it down step-by-step using the universal rules of mathematics.

The Golden Rule: Order of Operations

The key to solving any multi-operation math problem without parentheses is following the standard Order of Operations, commonly remembered by acronyms like PEMDAS (Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication and Division, Addition and Subtraction) or BODMAS (Brackets, Orders, Division and Multiplication, Addition and Subtraction).

Two core rules dictate how we handle this expression:

1. Multiplication and Division always take priority over Addition and Subtraction, evaluated from left to right.
2. Addition and Subtraction carry equal weight, and you evaluate them strictly from left to right.

Step-by-Step Solution

Let us apply these operational rules to our target expression:

$$8 – 8 times 8 + 8$$

Step 1: Handle the Multiplication

Scanning across the expression, we spot the multiplication operation ($8 times 8$). According to the hierarchy, this must be calculated first:

• $8 times 8 = 64$

Now, substitute that result back into the equation:
$$8 – 64 + 8$$

Step 2: Evaluate Left-to-Right for Subtraction and Addition

A very common trap here is to jump straight to the addition part ($64 + 8$) because the acronym “PEMDAS” lists addition before subtraction. However, addition and subtraction share the exact same precedence level and must always be calculated sequentially from left to right.

First, perform the subtraction on the left:

• $8 – 64 = -56$

Next, add the final eight:

• $-56 + 8 = -48$

Why Do People Get It Wrong?

The reason $8 – 8 times 8 + 8$ sparks so much online disagreement usually boils down to two common calculation mistakes:

• Reading straight across: Ignoring operator priority entirely and reading left-to-right ($8 – 8 = 0$, then multiplying and adding) leads to an incorrect answer of $8$.
• Grouping errors: Incorrectly applying parentheses where they do not belong, such as treating it like $8 – (64 + 8)$, which leads to $-74$.

By respecting the strict hierarchy of mathematical operations, the definitive, unshakeable answer is $-48$.