# This one is tricky - math riddle



## SquarePeg (Mar 28, 2020)

One guess only.

update
Petrochemist was the first to get the correct answer!


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## dxqcanada (Mar 28, 2020)

3x=30 ... x=30/3 .. x=10
2y+x=20 ... 2y+10=20 ... 2y=20 -10 ... 2y=10 ... y=10/2 ... y=5
2z+y=13 ... 2z=13-5 ... 2z=8 ... z=8/2 ... z=4
x+y*z= ... 10+5*4= ... 10+20=30


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## SquarePeg (Mar 28, 2020)

dxqcanada said:


> 3x=30 ... x=30/3 .. x=10
> 2y+x=20 ... 2y+10=20 ... 2y=20 -10 ... 2y=10 ... y=10/2 ... y=5
> 2z+y=13 ... 2z=13-5 ... 2z=8 ... z=8/2 ... z=4
> x+y*z= ... 10+5*4= ... 10+20=30



sorry that is incorrect


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## limr (Mar 28, 2020)

15?


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## johngpt (Mar 28, 2020)

14


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## RowdyRay (Mar 29, 2020)

19


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## Space Face (Mar 29, 2020)

19 is what I get too.


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## vintagesnaps (Mar 29, 2020)

19...


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## petrochemist (Mar 29, 2020)

Not difficult at all IMO, except we're tricked into thinking the last line is all additions (which would be 19)
@dxqcanada is correct, as multiplication is  done before addition unless brackets are used.


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## Space Face (Mar 29, 2020)

Ah, so 60 then.  Well spotted.


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## Original katomi (Mar 29, 2020)

17
Shoe 10
Boy 5
1 peg/scarf 2
Ok you got me, brackets?  Whooosh as it goes right over my head lol added that I miss read question in the first place .da


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## Space Face (Mar 29, 2020)

30


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## weepete (Mar 29, 2020)

60


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## Dean_Gretsch (Mar 29, 2020)

I also get 17.


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## photoflyer (Mar 29, 2020)

19


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## Original katomi (Mar 29, 2020)

Thanks just what I needed an idiot guide. Never did like math never saw the pointing pure math
I did yacht masters nav type math I could see the point and the relevant connections.
How tide plus or minus wind can effect the set course and so on


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## SquarePeg (Mar 29, 2020)

limr said:


> 15?





johngpt said:


> 14





RowdyRay said:


> 19





Space Face said:


> 19 is what I get too.





vintagesnaps said:


> 19...





petrochemist said:


> Not difficult at all IMO, except we're tricked into thinking the last line is all additions (which would be 19)
> @dxqcanada is correct, as multiplication is  done before addition unless brackets are used.





Space Face said:


> Ah, so 60 then.  Well spotted.





Original katomi said:


> 17
> Shoe 10
> Boy 5
> 1 peg/scarf 2
> Ok you got me, brackets?  Whooosh as it goes right over my head lol added that I miss read question in the first place .da





Space Face said:


> 30





weepete said:


> 60





Dean_Gretsch said:


> I also get 17.





gk fotografie said:


> 10 + 10 + 10 = 30
> 
> 5 + 5 + 10 = 20
> 
> ...





photoflyer said:


> 19





Original katomi said:


> Thanks just what I needed an idiot guide. Never did like math never saw the pointing pure math
> I did yacht masters nav type math I could see the point and the relevant connections.
> How tide plus or minus wind can effect the set course and so on



Some fuzzy math going on...  haven’t seen the right answer yet!  Please note I said it’s a tricky one.  Look more closely at the last line.


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## petrochemist (Mar 29, 2020)

SquarePeg said:


> Some fuzzy math going on...  haven’t seen the right answer yet!  Please note I said it’s a tricky one.  Look more closely at the last line.


Right now I see the paired items are all single on the last line.
So assuming the symbol of a single item is half the value of the symbol of a pair of those items @limr got it right, as you still have to do multiplication before addition. 5 + 5 x 2 = 15
If it was (5 + 5) x 2 the answer would be 20 but the brackets are not there.


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## SquarePeg (Mar 29, 2020)

Still not seeing the correct answer.  If no one gets it by noon Eastern (4 hours) I’ll post a clue.  Look closely at the last line.


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## Space Face (Mar 29, 2020)

FFS.  Ha!!!! 25


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## PJM (Mar 29, 2020)

Sneaky!  Yes, 25.


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## SquarePeg (Mar 29, 2020)

Space Face said:


> FFS.  Ha!!!! 25



no sorry


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## PJM (Mar 29, 2020)

Ha, no, made me go back and look again.

15


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## petrochemist (Mar 29, 2020)

Very sneaky, the resolution of your image isn't high enough to be sure, but if the blurs in his hands are the same as the items in line 3, and the ones on his feet are the trainers  we end up with:
5 + (5+10+4) x 2 or 43!
A test of eyesight rather than math.


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## Space Face (Mar 29, 2020)

Must be 48


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## SquarePeg (Mar 29, 2020)

petrochemist said:


> Very sneaky, the resolution of your image isn't high enough to be sure, but if the blurs in his hands are the same as the items in line 3, and the ones on his feet are the trainers  we end up with:
> 5 + (5+10+4) x 2 or 43!
> A test of eyesight rather than math.



Winner!  Yes sorry for the low res I stole this off Facebook after it annoyed me that I got it wrong so I thought I’d amuse you all with it.  

Those who said 15 were close and got the math part right (my dear aunt sally) but didn’t get the “trick” that he was wearing shoes and holding those other things in his hands in the last line.  

I think those are supposed to be either shoe laces or exercise bands but hard to tell.


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## Space Face (Mar 29, 2020)

I still don't see that as 43?


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## PJM (Mar 29, 2020)

At the risk of embarrassing myself again I'm going with

5 + ((5+2+2) x 2) = 23


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## PJM (Mar 29, 2020)

And I did....   I see we had a winner.

But what about those wrist bands on the guy in the last line????


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## SquarePeg (Mar 29, 2020)

The man = 5
Each shoe = 5
Each shoe lace = 2

in the last line he is wearing shoes and holding a shoelace in each hand.  So last line =

5 + 19 x 2

always multiply then divide before add and subtract. 

5 + 38 = 43


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## Space Face (Mar 29, 2020)

Isn't 5 +19 x 2 =48

5 + (19 x 2) would equal 43


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## SquarePeg (Mar 29, 2020)

Space Face said:


> Isn't 5 +19 = 24 x 2 =48



No, math is not left to right.  Multiply first then add unless there are parentheses.


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## Braineack (Mar 29, 2020)

5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 = 30
5 + 5 + 5 + 5 = 20
2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 5  = 13
5 + ( 5 x 2 ) = 15


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## Braineack (Mar 29, 2020)

SquarePeg said:


> Those who said 15 were close and got the math part right (my dear aunt sally) but didn’t get the “trick” that he was wearing shoes and holding those other things in his hands in the last line.



then this wasnt math equation.


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## SquarePeg (Mar 29, 2020)

Braineack said:


> SquarePeg said:
> 
> 
> > Those who said 15 were close and got the math part right (my dear aunt sally) but didn’t get the “trick” that he was wearing shoes and holding those other things in his hands in the last line.
> ...



it was a riddle


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## Space Face (Mar 29, 2020)

I shoulda gone to school when I had the chance


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## limr (Mar 29, 2020)

I shall take comfort in knowing I can still do math, even if I don't see that well anymore


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## Scott Whaley (Mar 29, 2020)

You must do the multiplication first.

5 + 5 x 2 = ?

5 + 10 = 15

2 shoes = 10
1 person = 5
1 stick or candle = 2
1 shoe = 5

Update 

I see the correct answer: 43.

Have been doing this on my phone and the resolution is not very good.


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## MSnowy (Mar 29, 2020)

60


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## CherylL (Mar 29, 2020)

43
The first time I did this I came up with 20 then 48.  Final answer is 43.
5 + ((5+5+5+2+2) x 2) =43


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## johngpt (Mar 29, 2020)

petrochemist said:


> Not difficult at all IMO, except we're tricked into thinking the last line is all additions (which would be 19)
> @dxqcanada is correct, as multiplication is  done before addition unless brackets are used.


You are so right! I was so concerned with discerning the value of the symbols, I neglected noticing the operands!


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## johngpt (Mar 29, 2020)

Two shoes = 10
One shoe = 5
Two ties = 4
Single tie = 2
One man = 5

5 + (5 x 2) = 15

I had added all ignoring the x between man and the single tie and had not noticed that it was a single tie, not two!


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## johngpt (Mar 29, 2020)

petrochemist said:


> Very sneaky, the resolution of your image isn't high enough to be sure, but if the blurs in his hands are the same as the items in line 3, and the ones on his feet are the trainers  we end up with:
> 5 + (5+10+4) x 2 or 43!
> A test of eyesight rather than math.


What!
That man in the bottom line is wearing shoes? And holding things? I still don't see it!


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## Original katomi (Mar 30, 2020)

Well if nothing else it has kept people amused or driven mad for a few days lol


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## Space Face (Mar 30, 2020)

Original katomi said:


> Well if nothing else it has kept people amused or driven mad for a few days lol



The latter, definitely


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## johngpt (Mar 30, 2020)

Mad?
Mad?
What could possibly make you think I've gone round the bend??????



the bench that got a lap dance from a tree...

.


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## photoflyer (Mar 30, 2020)

30.  I missed the multiplication but remembered the order of operation.


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## SquarePeg (Mar 31, 2020)

See post #26


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## danhughes (Mar 31, 2020)

Two tricks to this puzzle:

1.  You have to remember to do the multiplication before you do the addition.

2.  You have to notice that the man in all the pictures except the last one has no shoes and no wrist straps.  But in the last picture, he is wearing two shoes and two wrist straps, so you have to add those values in before you do the math.  So 5 (man) + 10 (shoes he's wearing) + 4 (wriststraps he's wearing) = 19.

So the final problem is 5 + (19 x 2) = 5 + 38 = 43.


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## Space Face (Mar 31, 2020)

It's already been explained.


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## earthmanbuck (Apr 7, 2020)

I see these things all the time on Facebook and they drive me nuts. There can't be a "correct" answer derived purely from the information given because none of the 3 symbols shown on the unsolved line appear in any of the previous two lines. You can _assume _that [one shoe] is half the value of [two shoes]—and there is a logic to that—but without those symbols appearing in lines that contain an answer, all you can ever do is make a guess. For all we know, [two shoes] = 10 and [one shoe] = 68,002. They're different symbols.

Kind of like how "2" isn't half of "22".


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