News

Actions

This Halloween math puzzle is stumping people

This Halloween math puzzle is stumping people
Posted
and last updated
 

Halloween is scary, what with all the costumes and the ghosts and the amount of sugar in candy corn. Do you know what else is scary? Algebra, what with all the numbers and the rules and the math.

So a Halloween-themed riddle seems like a little much. But much like a haunted house, we shall conquer our fear and march onward. Here is the problem from Mathway that was shared on Oct. 20, and is stumping people on the Internet. Are you ready to give it a whirl?

 

Facebook

 

Spooky enough for you? We’ll wait here while you try and solve this spooky math problem. While we’re young…

 

Have your answer? Well, flip the page to see if got a trick or a treat.

Think you have it? The answer is **SPOILER ALERT**: 16.

Not seeing how we got to that number? Are you getting 20? Well, take a closer look at the bats in the equation. Notice a difference between the bats in the third line and the bats in the fourth line?

That’s right, there are only two bats in the fourth line. By this logic, the problem is treating each bat as a symbol, rather than all of the bats together being a unit. With that in mind, let’s give it another try.

So each ghost is 4, because 4 + 4 + 4 = 12.

Then, each pumpkin is worth 8, because 4 + 8 + 8 = 20.

And then, each bat is worth 1, because 8 + (1+1+1) + (1+1+1) = 14.

So the final equation is 8 + 4 x (1+1)= ?

Remembering Dear Aunt Sally and the Order of Operations (parentheses, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, subtraction) you get:

8 + 4 x 2 = 8 + 8 = 16.

And there you have it, folks. Want to try that again, but with a different theme? Well, Mathway has a back-to-school one, a breakfast one, a sports bar one, a fall one and … yeah, you get the point.

If you want to try your hand at more brain-teasing puzzles, check out this algebra puzzle or this train problem.

This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for other great tips and ideas to make the most out of life.


,

Weather

Daily Forecast

View Hourly Forecast

Day

Conditions

HI / LO

Precip

Thursday

07/17/2025

Clear

-° / 73°

0%

Friday

07/18/2025

Clear

100° / 73°

0%

Saturday

07/19/2025

Clear

100° / 72°

0%

Sunday

07/20/2025

Mostly Clear

102° / 71°

0%

Monday

07/21/2025

Clear

97° / 68°

1%

Tuesday

07/22/2025

Clear

94° / 66°

1%

Wednesday

07/23/2025

Clear

93° / 65°

1%

Thursday

07/24/2025

Mostly Clear

93° / 65°

1%