Only a 'genius' can solve the maths sequence question that's left people baffled
A confusing maths sequence question has left some people scratching their heads, as they can't seem to agree on what the missing number should be.
Maths can be a difficult subject for many of us, and when you're faced with nothing but a seemingly random list of numbers and given the task of finding the next number in the sequence, it can sometimes feel impossible to solve the puzzle.
That's exactly what some have said about this new brain teaser, as it's left people fighting over the correct answer - because it seems as though two answers are equally as correct.
Can you work out the missing number? (@quiz_riddles/Twitter)The puzzle was shared on X - formerly known as Twitter - by an account called @quiz_riddles and takes the form of a 3x4 square grid, with each square containing one number. The first row contains the numbers 1, 2, and 3, the second row is 4, 5, and 6, the third reads 7, 8, and 9, and the final row contains the numbers 27 and 38, with the very last square containing a question mark - as this is the number we need to find.
According to the account, "only a genius can solve this". And it certainly seems to have divided people, as there are two completely different answers that come up most often when you read the comments on the post. Some argue that the answer must be 49, while others are convinced it's 51.
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How would you work out the sum? To some people, the answer seemed obvious. If you split the grid into columns instead of rows, then you can multiply the second and third numbers in each column, take away the top number, and you'll be left with the final number. So for example, 4x7 is 28, minus 1 is 27. Likewise, 5x8 is 40, and minus 2 is 38. Then, in the final column, you should do 6x9 which is 54, minus 3, leaving you with 51 as the missing number.
The people who believed the answer to be 49, however, weren't really doing maths at all but instead believed the puzzle was trying to get you to do arithmetic progression. In the first three rows, the numbers all increase by 1 each time, but in the final row, there is a difference of 11 between 27 and 38. They therefore believe the next number should be 49, as this is 38 + 11.
Some said they "couldn't make up their mind" about what answer the puzzle should have, and as of the time of writing, even the X account themselves haven't confirmed the correct solution. They did, however, quote the original post to ask: "51 or 49 or both? What's your final answer?"
While the account hasn't confirmed the true answer, the vast majority of people believe it to be 51, as some argued that the arithmetic pattern to get to 49 doesn't make sense, as the pattern suddenly changes from +1 to +11. One person pointed out: "How is it a pattern if the pattern isn't the same?"
What answer did you get? Let us know in the comments!
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