Sounds like a classic order of operations puzzle! Although I can’t see the actual picture or equation, from your description and hints, here’s the usual reasoning:
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Follow PEMDAS/BODMAS rules — multiply before you add.
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Solve the multiplication part first.
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Then do the addition or subtraction from left to right.
You mentioned the final answer is 3, so probably the problem looks something like:
Example: 1 + 2 × 1 = ?
Step 1: Multiply first: 2 × 1 = 2
Step 2: Add: 1 + 2 = 3
If you instead just went left to right (1 + 2 = 3, then 3 × 1 = 3), you’d still get 3, but in more complicated puzzles, ignoring order leads to wrong answers.
If you want, you can share the exact equation, and I can walk through it step-by-step!
