What is 8 – 8 * 8 + 8? Order of Operations Solved

The Viral Trap: Decoding 8 – 8 * 8 + 8

Internet math puzzles love to prey on a single, universal human weakness: our collective forgetfulness of the order of operations. Every few weeks, a seemingly harmless arithmetic string pops up on social media, sparking thousands of heated arguments in the comments.

Consider this deceptively simple expression:

8 – 8 * 8 + 8

At first glance, it looks harmless—just a few eights bouncing around. Yet, if you throw this into a group chat, you are almost guaranteed to get at least two different answers. Let’s break it down step-by-step to see why this happens and what the actual mathematical truth is.

The Battle of Left-to-Right vs. Multiplication First

When people look at an expression like 8 - 8 * 8 + 8, two common errors usually lead them astray:

1. Reading straight across: Someone might read the expression purely from left to right: 8 minus 8 is 0, 0 times 8 is 0, and 0 plus 8 is 8.
2. Grouping by symmetry: Another common trap is seeing symmetrical patterns and assuming the operations cancel each other out or grouping parts of the equation intuitively rather than structurally.

Both approaches violate the fundamental rules that govern mathematics worldwide.

The Savior: PEMDAS / BODMAS

To prevent total mathematical anarchy, the mathematical community agreed upon a universal hierarchy of operations, commonly remembered by acronyms like PEMDAS (Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication and Division, Addition and Subtraction) or BODMAS.

The rulebook is strict:

• Multiplication and Division take precedence over Addition and Subtraction. They must be evaluated first, moving from left to right.
• Addition and Subtraction are evaluated last, also moving strictly from left to right.

Solving the Puzzle Step-by-Step

Let’s apply the rules to our expression:

8 – 8 * 8 + 8

Step 1: Handle the multiplication.
The core of the expression contains 8 * 8.
8 * 8 = 64

Now substitute that back into the original expression:
8 - 64 + 8

Step 2: Perform addition and subtraction from left to right.
This is where many people stumble. Addition and subtraction share the exact same priority level, which means you must evaluate them strictly from left to right—not addition first just because of the word order in the acronym.

First, calculate the subtraction on the left:
8 - 64 = -56

Next, add the final 8:
-56 + 8 = -48

The Final Verdict

The correct answer to 8 – 8 * 8 + 8 is -48.

The next time a viral math equation crosses your feed, you won’t need to check the comment section to know the truth. Just remember your order of operations, respect the multiplication, and work your way carefully from left to right.