Can you solve this puzzle in under 20 seconds?
Are you smarter than a first-grader?
Take a look at the puzzle in the image below. (You may need to click “Display Images” if you can’t see it.)
What is the number underneath the car?
The story goes that six-year-olds in Hong Kong solved the puzzle in under 20 seconds.
I admit I didn’t solve it so quickly when my girlfriend’s 10-year-old son shared it with me. Once I saw the answer, it seemed obvious.
As I analyzed my thought process, I realized I had jumped directly into math mode, using a detailed analysis of the sequence to unearth the relationship between the numbers.
16, 06, 68, 88, ??, 98
“Let’s see. They are all even. The answer is likely even. They are in ascending order except for the 06. So if I figure out why that 06 is in there, that will certainly point me to the answer.”
In the end, the solution was much more straightforward. Ready for the answer?