Tricky Math UPSC Puzzle

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You need to pick any number from ‘1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15’ to make below equation true.
( ) + ( ) + ( ) = 30

Can you solve it ?

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  • 2 Answer(s)

    The question has no answer.All the given are odd numbers.By adding three odd numbers you will never get an even number.Since 30 is an even number.

    Resinb Curious Answered on 2nd May 2017.
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    The question, when taken in the exact sense, has no solution because the sum of three ODD numbers can never be an EVEN number, whether 30 or 300, whereas all the numbers in the list given are odd.

    However, since this is indicated as a ‘Tricky puzzle’, it means that there should be some ‘tricky’ way to solve it. So, here we go:

    Since the puzzle specifies no rule / condition that prohibits use of mathematical operators, we could use the ‘factorial’. So,
    (3!) + (11) + (13)  = 6 + 11 + 13 = 30

    (Other options may also be possible.)

    Viji_Pinarayi Expert Answered on 30th May 2017.
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