Just for fun, one day I posted what I thought seemingly easy puzzle to a software development team.
It’s simple math with plus and minus, and by moving a match stick that forms the following equation, to make them correct.
8 + 3 - 4 = 0
I know 3 of them ahead, but to my surprise, there are 2 more that came out of expectation. Let me share them below
Warning: DON’T SCROLL DOWN IF YOU LIKE TO ATTEMPT THE PUZZLE FIRST. ALL 5 ANSWERS BELOW.
I recommend trying yourself first before looking at the answer.
Illegitimate answers
Before that, let’s rule out some I consider illegitimate.
There are some creative people who come up with something that I think is not legitimate, like creating a ≠ sign. e.g.
Moving one stick we can form the below. This will generate numerous answers that I don’t think are valid in this case.
8 - 3 - 4 ≠ 0
After eliminating all the ≠ cases, let’s look at the 5 of them.
Scroll them down slowly if you want to get some hint first before answer them
1. Change Just the Left Side Equation
Hint: let’s not worry about the right side of the equation. Just focus on changing the numbers on the left side
— —— — — — — — — Answer below — — — — — — — — —
Answer
Just move 1 stick from the 8, and change the 4 to be 9
