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Math logic puzzler for fun
Old 07-21-2017, 06:50 AM   #1
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Math logic puzzler for fun

Solve this:

1 + 4 = 5
2 + 5 = 12
3 + 6 = 21
5 + 8 = ?

What is the last answer?

I'll post the answer sometime this evening (eastern time), to give people a chance to answer.
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Old 07-21-2017, 06:54 AM   #2
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Old 07-21-2017, 06:55 AM   #3
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Old 07-21-2017, 07:05 AM   #4
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Looks like a trick question, I'll go with 13.
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Old 07-21-2017, 07:07 AM   #5
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Old 07-21-2017, 07:10 AM   #6
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Old 07-21-2017, 07:11 AM   #7
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Old 07-21-2017, 07:11 AM   #8
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Old 07-21-2017, 07:15 AM   #9
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I should move this to the "pet peeves" post. Puzzles like this are nice little brain teasers, but the syntax is totally nonsensical and are like nails on a chalkboard to me. The + and = symbols have very specific meaning. One should not just throw around terms such as " 2+5=12".

It is bad math grammar.
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Old 07-21-2017, 07:16 AM   #10
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Probably more than one answer. The one that stands out to me is 34.
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Old 07-21-2017, 07:17 AM   #11
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I like 45, too.
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Old 07-21-2017, 07:21 AM   #12
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“a + b” then answer is “a + (a x b)” in each case.
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Old 07-21-2017, 07:24 AM   #13
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Any of 13, 34 and 45 can be supported with logic which I suppose is the whole point of the exercise.
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Old 07-21-2017, 07:28 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by traineeinvestor View Post
Any of 13, 34 and 45 can be supported with logic which I suppose is the whole point of the exercise.
Yep, I'm waiting to see what answer tells you about "you"
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Old 07-21-2017, 07:33 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Philliefan33 View Post
34

I should move this to the "pet peeves" post. Puzzles like this are nice little brain teasers, but the syntax is totally nonsensical and are like nails on a chalkboard to me. The + and = symbols have very specific meaning. One should not just throw around terms such as " 2+5=12".

It is bad math grammar.
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Old 07-21-2017, 07:34 AM   #16
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on first look I can see at least 3 answers that could work.... 34, 37 or 45, but I could probably find more that would work also.

The problem with questions like this is it is a more sophisticated version of if a+b=17, what is the value of A?
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Old 07-21-2017, 07:35 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Philliefan33 View Post
34

I should move this to the "pet peeves" post. Puzzles like this are nice little brain teasers, but the syntax is totally nonsensical and are like nails on a chalkboard to me. The + and = symbols have very specific meaning. One should not just throw around terms such as " 2+5=12".

It is bad math grammar.
+1
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Old 07-21-2017, 07:35 AM   #18
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Old 07-21-2017, 07:48 AM   #19
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It is bad math grammar.
Agree, math sequence puzzles usually have commas between the numbers, that's why I picked 13.
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Old 07-21-2017, 07:52 AM   #20
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Reminds me of those aptitude tests that you had to take in high school. You saw many different possible answers to one question, and you wondered if the folks who wrote the questions even realized that !!
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