A viral maths problem reportedly given to Singaporean five to seven-year-olds has been baffling the internet, but closer inspection reveals it is likely a hoax. The puzzle, which first appeared on a Singapore tech forum, was captioned as a 'Pri 1 bonus question' but lacks proper instructions and appears to have been doctored.
The image was lifted and altered from a puzzle website run by Gordon Burgin, a retired American teacher based in Norwich. In Burgin's original version, the bottom left quadrant contained a 20, but in the viral version the zero was rubbed out, making the problem unsolvable. 'I am a little bemused by the hoax,' Burgin said. 'If discussion and frustration was the intention I guess they succeeded.'
The correct version of the puzzle involves a circle divided into four sectors, each containing a two-digit number equal to the sum of three numbers at the corners of its sector. Numbers 1 to 9 can only be used once, and one number is already provided. The challenge is to find the remaining four numbers.
In addition to the Singapore puzzle, a historic Japanese problem from 1727 has also resurfaced. The Wakoku Chie-Kurabe puzzle requires placing numbers 1 to 9 in black circles so that the sum of numbers around each blue circle and along horizontal and vertical lines is the same. This puzzle offers a more authentic challenge from the Far East.
