This viral brain teaser has left people scratching their heads as they debate whether the answer is 500, 200, or 102
This apparently simple puzzle has proved to be a genuine brain-bender.
Even the most basic of mental challenges can deliver significant benefits for our cognitive wellbeing, helping to stave off dementia and strengthening the links between brain cells. Moreover, cracking a challenging puzzle can boost your spirits and reduce stress levels as your brain floods with dopamine upon discovering the answer.
However, one specific puzzle is creating quite the commotion rather than offering peace of mind, as it’s become a source of irritation and fierce arguments amongst those trying to solve it. The question looks effortless, yet its wording creates unforeseen complications, triggering a social media storm with countless possible answers being fiercely debated, , reports the Manchester Evening News.
Fancy having a go at this viral brain-teaser?
Jennie and Nick, a TikTok pair renowned for their puzzling posts, recently shared this riddle which disguises itself as a straightforward maths problem. In their clip, Nick poses the question to his spouse: “Divide 200 by half and add 100. What do you get?”
Jennie replies with certainty that the solution is 200, explaining that half of 200 equals 100, and adding a further 100 brings you back to 200. Nick, though, maintains she’s got it wrong, leaving her increasingly baffled as she insists no alternative answer makes sense.
The wording of this mathematical puzzle is what makes it so particularly tricky. “Divide 200 by half” can be understood in various ways, and it’s not how a standard equation would typically be worded.
You might presume it means to halve 200, resulting in the calculation 200 divided by 2, but as Nick emphasised in his clip, that’s not the right understanding.
So, what’s the answer?
The video doesn’t reveal a solution, but there are two possible answers depending on your interpretation of the question.
Numerous viewers proposed the answer is 500. This stems from interpreting “divide 200 by half” as dividing by the figure 0.5.
When you divide by a fraction smaller than one, the outcome is greater. Dividing 200 by 0.5 yields 400, since 0.5 goes into 200 precisely 400 times.
Adding the 100 from the sum then produces 500.
Nevertheless, some have contended that “divide 200 by half” might mean dividing 200 by half of itself, which is 100.
This calculation, 200 divided by 100, equals 2. Add the 100 and you arrive at 102.