Turns and moves a new challenge takes away the peace and quiet of Internet users on social networks. A challenge involving a child, $100 and a dollar short has been circulating over the past few days. Can you solve this math challenge?
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The challenge reads as follows: “I borrowed $50 from my mom and $50 to buy a purse that costs $97. After the purchase, I had $3 in change. I returned $1 to my mother, $1 to my father, and I kept $1 for myself. Now my debt is $49 + $49 + the $1 I took for myself, which is $99. Where is the missing dollar?”.
Internet users from various parts of the world have focused on this challenge of mathematics, bringing different points of view to the problem.
The explanation lies in the lack of perspective
A user of the social network Quora explained that the problem with the question is that it is not clear what we are trying to calculate. “Is it the amount of money the person owes? Or is it the amount of money you spent?” he asked. “The final calculation is a combination of what the person owes and what he has; it makes no sense".
Another user of the social network was categorical: “You are looking at it from the wrong perspective”. “Person took $100, paid $2 back. So the debt is now $98, leaving you with only $1 in change. There is no dollar missing. The money the person took for themselves is part of the $98,” she explained.
“Where's the missing dollar?”: Learn how to solve this math challenge!
Math teacher Rachel Frasier shared the math challenge on Twitter in 2019. She has the answer! See below.
“There is no dollar missing. The person started with $100 and spent $97. With the $3 left over, he gave $1 to mom, $1 to dad, and kept $1. She owes $98 but is left with $1, which we can include in what she owes her parents. So the person needs another $97 to pay them back. In other words, the stock price”.
Another Twitter user offered another explanation. According to him, the part that intrigues people is the end of the challenge which, technically, is incorrect. “Since it's a debt, the extra dollar actually adds up to $97 in total, not $99, which is exactly what the purse is worth,” he said.
*with information from Entertainment Times
Graduated in Social Communication at the Federal University of Goiás. Passionate about digital media, pop culture, technology, politics and psychoanalysis.
