A new viral puzzle featuring flowers and numbers has left internet users scratching their heads, with some claiming they've solved it while a maths teacher insists it's unsolvable.
The puzzle, shared on the Trending in China Facebook page, shows three red flowers equalling 60, a red flower plus two blue flowers equalling 30, and a blue flower minus a yellow flower equalling three. The final equation asks for the value of a yellow flower plus a red flower plus a blue flower.
One user, Bond Ariel Bond, claimed the answer is 101, explaining: "20 + 20 + 20 = 60; 20 + 5 + 5 = 30; 5 - 2 = 3; 1 + (20 x 5) = 101." Others argue the answer is 25, noting that the blue flower in the last line has four petals instead of five, and the yellow flower is a single bloom rather than a double.
However, a maths teacher known as 'Professor Puzzler' has declared the puzzle unsolvable. He wrote: "The correct answer to this question is, 'No, I cannot solve this.' There really is no other answer. If you came up with a numerical value, you were wrong (sorry!)."
He explained that the blue flower in the final equation has one petal fewer than in previous appearances, and the yellow flower is a single, not a double. "We can calculate the value of a red flower, we can calculate the value of a yellow flower, and we can calculate the value of a blue flower with five petals, but we do not have any information with which to calculate the value of a blue flower with four petals," he said.
The puzzle has garnered over 2,200 reactions and more than 3,500 comments on Facebook, with many users debating the correct solution.
