Can anyone figure out this seemingly simple mathmatical problem?

[compufunk]

2+7*1+(18-19+22)-7-3*5+(11*5)-6=?

This question was posed on one of those late night rip off phone in competitions.

Quite sure I had the correct answer of

Spoiler

57

I decided to record the program and go to bed.

This morning after fastforwarding to the end of the program, I realized my answer was way out.

My answer

Spoiler

2 + (7 * 1) + (18 - 19 + 22) - 7 - (3 * 5) + (11 * 5) - 6 = 57

There was some trickery at play here.
The presenter kept saying to add all the numbers in the picture.

Anyone care to have a go at it?

 

[Mickha]

I get 149 but I use real, (mental aritmetic), mathematics and not game show trickery, which involves working out the sums in brackets first, hence:
(18-19+22) = 21
(11x5) = 55

hence 2+7=9, x1 =9, +21 =30, -7 =23, -3 =20, x5 =100, +55 =155, -6 =149, but this is never the correct answer, on a game show, as it's too obvious !!!!!!!!

 

[wannabee]

If you add all the numbers you get 106 i think..

ie.. 2+7+1+(18+19+22)+7+3+5+(11+5)-6=106

however you could also add them this way..

ie.. 2+7+1+(1+8+1+9+2+2)+7+3+5+(1+1+5)+6= 61

This is my way of thinking It specifically says that you must ADD ALL the numbers.. Does not say anything about subtracting dividing or mulitplying.. lol

 

[Topper]

To most folk of average intelligence (i.e. anyone but a dumb ass television presenter) they would use the notation provided and subtract where indicated since subtraction is still adding but adding a negative number. If it says * then you multiply and why include such notation and tell you to ignore it.

There are a number of answers I suspect but I get 225

from 9 x 22 - 7 - 15 + 55 - 6

 

[Analoguesat]

If they say add all the numbers you can get all sorts of combinations as then you can take some of the parts of the sum in all sorts of ways:

(11*5)

could be

11+5=16
1+1+5=7
11+5+1+1 = 18
1+15........



Even then if you get say 116 as the final answer you can then add

116
11+6
1+16 (possibly twice if you use the inner and outer figures as seperate numbers!)
1+1+6
etc etc

These games are a complete con and should be banned.

 

[compufunk]

I completely agree that that they should be banned.:-Nooo

According to the producers, the answer is 336.

How they arrived at this number is beyond me. I just used what I was taught was the order of precedence .i.e operations within parenthesis 1st followed by multiplication and division, followed by addition and subtraction.
Which would be....
2 + (7 * 1) + (18 - 19 + 22) - 7 - (3 * 5) + (11 * 5) - 6 = 57

I also thought of the two solutions mentioned by wannabe, which were of course also wrong.

So next question, how in the hell did they arrive at the number 336???

 

[Analoguesat]

The key is in the words add all the numbers

18 - 19 + 22 doesnt not give 21!

It could just as easily be

18+19+22+1+8+1+9+2+2= 82!


7*1 is not 7 - its at least 8!!

 

[Analoguesat]

The comps are as bad as the ones that got banned a couple of years ago -

in the most notorious case the qwuestion was "name items that could be found in a womans handbag"

The big money answer was rawlplugs

 

[Channel Hopper]

in the most notorious case the qwuestion was "name items that could be found in a womans handbag"

The big money answer was rawlplugs

That's where I store mine.

 

[krithika]

The key is in the words add all the numbers

18 - 19 + 22 doesnt not give 21!

It could just as easily be

18+19+22+1+8+1+9+2+2= 82!


7*1 is not 7 - its at least 8!!

How does 336 comes? Some one tell, I will earn pound 3700 atleast next year

 

[Analoguesat]

How does 336 comes? Some one tell, I will earn pound 3700 atleast next year

Havent got the faintest idea, and Im not wasting my time working through all the possible numerical combinations

As I said earlier these competitions are just a grade 1 con.