A seemingly straightforward maths question has left many people scratching their heads as they try to figure out the correct answer – can you figure out the solution to this equation?
This maths puzzle has genuinely baffled quite a few people. Attempting to work it out might transport you back to memories of being trapped in a maths class at school, being picked on by your teacher, or struggling over an exam that feels impossible to complete.
The brilliant news is that nobody is grading you on this puzzle, so there’s no risk in attempting to exercise your mathematics muscles. Regularly tackling puzzles or brainteasers can be a fantastic habit to build into your routine, as research has demonstrated that completing this type of mental exercise daily can help ward off some of the negative impacts of ageing – something virtually everyone would be eager to do.
This puzzle was shared on TikTok by content creator Kenny Berwager, who frequently uploads riddles and other challenges on his profile, which has accumulated over a thousand followers – and he insists “only smart people” can solve the brainteaser.
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In the introduction to the challenge, Kenny prompted his audience to “divide 700 by half, and then add 35”.
On the surface, this appears to be a straightforward ask, it might even seem like the puzzling aspect is how anyone could struggle with this question, but if you examine the phrasing of the brainteaser closely – precisely like you were instructed to do at school when tackling an exam – you might discover that the question is rather more complex than you originally believed.
If you reckon you’ve solved this one, share your guess in the comments and keep reading to see if you’re spot on. But if this puzzle has left you scratching your head, this helpful hint from Kenny could help.
“At first it seems confusing, but here is how it works,” Kenny said, using an analogy to help anyone stumped by the sum. “Imagine for a second you had 700 slices of pizza, and if I told you to divide them by half, you’d think 350 right? Wrong! Dividing by half actually means multiplying by two. So 700 divided by half, is actually 700 times two.
“Which gives us 1,400 slices of pizza, now just add 35 more slices to that yummy stack of pizza, and boom, you’ve got 1435 slices of delicious pizza ready to eat.”
So, did you manage to work out this maths puzzle without breaking a sweat? If you did, then here’s another that might be a bit tougher. In fact, only 10% of people can crack this maths problem – are you in that number-crunching elite?
This particular brainteaser made waves after it was featured on the Australian version of the game show The 1% Club. It takes the form of a number sequence where you must find the missing number that completes the list. So, what is the next number that completes this sequence: 4, 2, 3, 4, 6, 4, 9, 4, ?
Find out the answer here.
