A simple math puzzle has caused a flurry of controversy among math afficionados on the internet over the correct way to find the answer.
The brain-teaser, which has gone viral on X (formerly Twitter), appears to show four basic equations.
Many are attempting to crack its mysterious pattern but it defies conventional mathematics – but there’s a catch.
At first glance, the equation may seem simple, but it’s baffled online users:
312=36
412=47
512=58
612=?
Now, social media users have been frantically trying to figure out the correct way to answer the question.
Hundreds of comments offer different solutions to explain the pattern.
The key to solving this mind-boggling puzzle isn’t applying traditional math.
It’s about identifying what the numbers to the right of the equal sign have in common.
A simple math puzzle has left internet users scrambling to find the correct answer. The brain-teaser, which has gone viral on X (formerly Twitter), appears to show four basic equations
This requires thinking outside what most have learned in school.
Several users believe they’ve cracked the code.
The most popular answer is ’69’ with hundreds of users responding with the same answer.
However, not everyone agrees on how to reach this conclusion.
‘Use the first number as the 10s place, then add the 3 numbers for the 1s place. So 69,’ one user replied. ‘They explained their thought process clearly.’
Another user reached the same conclusion through a different approach.
‘3+1+2=6. 4+1+2=7. 5+1+2=8. 6+1+2=9. Answer: 69’
But not everyone agreed on the answer.
At least one commenter insists the solution is ’72’. Another boldly wrote ‘9’ is correct.
One user provided a more detailed explanation.
‘First digit on the right side = same as the digit on the left hand side. Second digit on the right side = sum of the 3 digits on the left hand side,’ they commented.
Following this logic, we can see the pattern. 312=36 (First digit is 3, second digit is 3+1+2=6). 412=47 (First digit is 4, second digit is 4+1+2=7). 512=58 (First digit is 5, second digit is 5+1+2=8).
So for 612, the answer would indeed be 69. The 6 serves as the first digit. The sum 6+1+2=9 becomes the second.
This puzzle is just the latest in a series of mind-bending problems that have captivated social media users worldwide.
Another simple brainteaser left the internet baffled in March.
The equation goes as follows:
11+12=32
12+13=52
13+14=72
15+16=??
This puzzle is just the latest in a series of mind-bending problems that have captivated social media users worldwide. Another simple brainteaser left the internet baffled in March
X users have tried their hand at finding a solution to the sequence that does not follow the written rules of arithmetic and requires a bit of outside-of-the-box thinking.
At first glance, the prompt appears to be nothing more than four basic addition problems, with all of them already solved except the last one.
But these are no ordinary equations, as the three that are pre-answered are blatantly incorrect based on the laws of addition you most likely learned in elementary school.
So the key to solving this math puzzle is not necessarily getting the right answer, but getting the right wrong answer.
In order to do so, you have to identify what all the numbers to the right of the equal sign have in common.
Out of the nearly 300 people that shared their final answers in the comment section of Bholanath Dutta‘s post of the teaser, only a handful landed on the true response.
The trick is adding the numbers together, and then taking the answer and inverting the digits. So, 12 + 13 = 25, but 25 inverted is 52.