Can You Solve This Equation By Moving Just One Stick?
By
Editorial Staff in
Puzzle
On 8th October 2016
When children returned to school just weeks ago, you may have given thanks that your days of maths class and homework were well and truly over.
But the latest brainteaser to sweep the web will have you willingly working out sums again. The puzzle is made up of an equation formed of coloured sticks.
The puzzle is made up of an equation formed of coloured sticks
This maths brainteaser will have you staring at the screen trying to work out the answer. The puzzle is made up of an equation formed of coloured sticks.
To solve it, you're allowed to move just one stick to make the answer correct.
At first glance it may appear easy - but in fact you might have found just one of the problem's four possible solutions.
One way to solve it is to turn the six into a zero by moving the green stick in the middle to the right hand side.
This turns the sum into 0 + 4 = 4, which any schoolkid can tell you is correct.
The puzzle can also be solved by transforming the six into an eight bu taking the yellow stick from the plus symbol, creating the equation 8 - 4 = 4
But it doesn't stop there.
The tricky puzzle has been shared thousands of times on Facebook.
By transforming the six into a five, which is easy to accomplish by moving the blue stick and putting it on top of the four at the end of the sum, you're left with 5 + 4 = 9.
The final way to beat the maths problem is to take the yellow stick from the plus to make it into a minus, then add it below the red stick on the four
Some may consider this to be cheating. But it turns the four into 1 - 1, leaving you with 6 1 1 = 4.
Can you find any other solutions to it?