- Mumsnet user PeerieBreeks shared a math riddle on a message board for parents.
- The question asks how much money a man makes or loses after buying and selling horses.
- It racked up almost 500 comments with different answers.
- The correct answer is that he made $20.
There's another viral math question stumping the internet.
User PeerieBresks shared the riddle on Mumsnet, a parenting website and forum, where it racked up nearly 500 comments with other users debating the answer.
The text of the math question reads as follows:
A man buys a horse for $60. He sells the horse for $70. He then buys the horse back for $80. And he sells the horse again for $90. In the end, how much money did the man make or lose? Or did he break even?
Answers in the Mumsnet thread ranged from making $10, $20 and even $30, to breaking even. So what's the solution?
What seems to be throwing people off is the fact that the man sells the horse for $70 and then buys it back for $80, making it look like he spent 10 more dollars. But the correct way to solve the problem is to think of the two transactions as separate: -60 + 70 = 10 and -80 + 90 = 10.
The man makes $10 with each sale, therefore he earns a total of $20.
This is far from the first viral math question to confuse people. This Chinese math question for 5th graders stumped adults, and these difficult riddles left internet users scratching their heads.
