How Many Ways Can You Solve This?
We posted this puzzle on Facebook and asked how many different ways people could solve it. So far we have managed to find ten solutions, and we'd love to hear if you have any more to add.
75 − 25 = 50
8 ÷ 2 = 4
50 + 4 = 54
75 + 25 = 100
100 + 8 = 108
108 ÷ 2 = 54
75 − 25 = 50
50 − 8 = 42
42 + 10 = 52
52 + 2 = 54
10 − 8 = 2
25 + 2 = 27
27 × 2 = 54
75 ÷ 25 = 3
10 − 3 = 7
8 × 7 = 56
56 − 2 = 54
25 − 8 = 17
17 + 10 = 27
27 × 2 = 54
75 ÷ 25 = 3
10 + 8 = 18
3 × 18 = 54
10 − 8 = 2
2 + 2 = 4
25 − 4 = 21
75 − 21 = 54
75 − 25 = 50
10 − 8 = 2
2 + 2 = 4
50 + 4 = 54
75 + 10 = 85
85 − 25 = 60
8 − 2 = 6
60 − 6 = 54
What we like about this isn't just that there's often more than one right answer. It's that the different paths can look nothing alike and still land in exactly the same place. That's true of a lot more than maths huh!
It's also true of Easy, Medium and Hard puzzles generally: there's usually more than one valid path to the answer. Only Extreme is deliberately built to have exactly one unique solution, which is specifically what makes it the hardest tier, not just the numbers involved.
Out of curiosity, we ran this puzzle back through Rigid Digit's own puzzle-generating algorithm. It reckons there are 120 unique ways to reach 54 with these five numbers: 12 of them in three steps, the other 108 in four. Oh boy, we've got some work to do!
Found a solution we haven't listed? Share it in the comments below.
Comments
MoguTheCat
75-25 = 50 10-8 = 2 2+2 = 4 50+4 = 54
MoguTheCat
I think I've got another! 75+10 = 85 85-25 = 60 8-2=6 60-6 = 54