A new brain teaser has left people scratching their heads as they attempt to work out the next number in this baffling sequence – can you solve the tricky puzzle?...CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
How good are you at maths? You might think you’re a whizz when it comes to addition or multiplication, but what about working out number sequences? Understanding sequences is a big part of learning maths at school, but it’s not something we use in our day-to-day lives so it’s easy to forget how to recognise number patterns.
A new brain teaser has left people scratching their heads as it challenges you to work out what the next number should be in a truly baffling sequence. Giving your brain a workout with a puzzle every day can help boost cognitive function, so why not give this one a go and see how good your maths skills really are?
The image above shows you the sequence you have to work out. It says that if 7 = 42, then 6 = 30, and 5 = 20. You’re not told what four equals, but you have to use the information given to you to work out what you think three might be equal to. It seems baffling at first, but there’s a simple solution.
At first, you might think that the numbers simply go up by 10 each time, if five is equal to 20 and six is equal to 30. This would mean that four, which isn’t included in the puzzle, would be equal to 10, and three, the number you’re looking for, would likely be equal to 0. However, this can’t be right as seven is equal to 42 rather than 40.
Got it yet? True brain whizzes should be able to work this puzzle out in just 11 seconds, so if you’ve already found the solution then you might just be a genius! If you need a little more help, however, we can offer you a hint.
In order to work this puzzle out, you need to know your times tables. Take a good look at the numbers you’ve been given and try to find something that links them together. We won’t give you any more hints than this, so take all the time you need to work it out, and then scroll down to see the answer!
The answer is 3 = 6. The rules of the sequence were that every number is multiplied by the number before it. So in the example of 7 = 42, the full sum is 7 x 6 = 42. Similarly, 6 = 30 is actually 6 x 5 = 30, and 5 = 20 can be written fully as 5 x 4 = 20. The sum for the number four would have been 4 x 3 = 12, and so the full sum for the number three is 3 x 2 = 6.
Did you manage to work it out? Let us know in the comments! And if you want to test your brain power with some more tricky puzzles, then why not give this maths question a go, which some people have claimed is “simple” but has left others completely stumped…<<CONTINUE READING>>