Can you solve this 2nd grade problem that has baffled adults?

A question assigned to 7 year old students completely stumped a mother who posted it online asking for help.
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[@xenathcytrin202]

looking at it, I genuinely have no idea what the problem even is.

[@bebektoxic2136]

English is also not my mother tongue and I understand why you don't understand.

[@Jreaddy]

They throw in word words the kids should know, 99% of the time I get stuck on soemthing helping my kid, I ask, “how did you learn this” and they’ll show me a quick easy thing and it’ll click in my head, there’s always a random word for me that I have no idea what they mean lol. Like in this it was “addend” or whatever that word was, remove that word and I’m good hahahah

[@Moses_VII]

They never taught me the word 'addend' in school. They just say 'one of the two numbers which get added'.

[@user-pm7fv9dt6j]

​@@Moses_VIIsame

[@JLvatron]

@@bebektoxic2136 Even with English tonguers, nobody knows what an Addend is.

[@philosopherkingzant2037]

I need to go back to 2nd grade English because I had no idea what the question even asked

[@Moses_VII]

Addend is a word none of us were taught

[@scaper8]

​@@Moses_VIIYeah, I'm pretty good at math, and I truly do not think I was ever taught the words "addend," "aguend," nor "summand." I know "term" and "sum," but not the others.

[@josephcarland]

The wording of the question is confusing.

[@hermand]

Haha, right. "Have a go at solving it?" I don't even know what the question is!

[@worldsfunniestvideosandbes3684]

That's what my problem with the question was also. 😂 ​@@Moses_VII

[@Unknown-gc7tn]

The whole reason this is difficult is because you can overcomplicate the question

[@worstusernameintheworld9871]

exactly, the equation can be written as my first answer (which is 6 + 20 + 800 = 826 aka I only used the digits listed in the question). The thing is, you can TECHNICALLY add more digits to your equation since the question never stated that you should ONLY use the digits listed in the question (for example: 6 + 20 + 800 + 826 = 1452, aka my second answer, nobody said I couldn't add a "1452" to my equation). This makes the question more complicated than what it's probably initially intended for (aka ONLY using the numbers listed to make an addition equation). edit: I saw another viable solution that makes sense which also bends the supposed "rules" of the question, as nowhere in the question states that you ONLY need a 1-, 2-, and 3-digit addend, resulting in this addition equation: 8 + 68 + 206 + 0 + 0 = 828 The thing that stumps most people the most, however, is the fact that they have no idea what an addend is, and since English is a second language to most people in my country, I get it (lucky for me, I grew up speaking English AND we were taught about "addends", "subtractor/subtrahend", "factor", "dividend/divisor", etc. where I live so it's just an advantage for people like me).

[@redchan2571]

Honestly this feels more like a language comprehension question than a math question If i were to construct the question i would write: Use the following numbers to construct a valid equation by filling in the boxes below 2,2,6,6,8,8,0,0,0 [] [] [] + [] [] + [] = [] [] []

[@hillaryclinton1314]

I will go with this... The original question was horribly constructed!

[@scottmcshannon6821]

@@hillaryclinton1314 the original question used terms no 2nd grader ever heard.

[@jnharton]

@@scottmcshannon6821 Says who? I'm sure that digit, equation, addition, and addend were all mentioned in math classes before.

[@softy8088]

@@jnharton Strangely I had never heard "addend" and had to look it up as an adult when I was writing some documentation.

[@grillbesteck6319]

Ohhh then it’s easy, it’s 800 + 60 + 2 = 862

[@BangkokBubonaglia]

The 3 zeroes are the key. Once you realize there are only 2 of everything else, you understand that everything that appears in the addends also has to appear in the sum, and there are enough zeroes to make that happen. There are no odd numbers available to do any kind of carry logic. It's actually probably easier for a second grader, who doesn't have a lot of experience carrying digits forward yet, so they see the obvious solution right away.

[@mullergyula4174]

Exactly. If you avoid the carrying then it is simple.

[@michaeljayne6731]

Simple, but I wonder what practical use it has. Just realizing that adding a 0 with a digit (an integer in the range [0,9]) yields the digit being added?

[@barahoupt7849]

Exactly! What a neat question!

[@smylesg]

The question should have stated, "using only this complete set of digits." Nothing in the problem statement prevents you from adding more digits.

[@softreyna]

I wonder if this is the intention? It makes the math of the problem MUCH easier, and that kind of logic, while not something most of us were taught in second grade, is something that I think a second grader could grasp, especially if they're already being taught what an equation is. I mean, I mostly remember second grade math focusing on doing basic addition quickly, and they probably don't have to spend nearly as much time on that in the "you DO keep a calculator in your pocket at all times" era.

[@nieshmiesh]

just what I thought, also with the amount of addends so 6+22+680+800=1508 is a solution.

[@otakurocklee]

exactly.

[@DumbMuscle]

This is only possible if you also have an additional addend (which is also not specified, so the question is still underspecified). If you have 1 more digit, it has to go somewhere - and if your addends are defined, you'll need a 4 digit sum (so you can fit all the given digits and your new one). A+BB+CCC=DDDD requires the 4 digit sum to start with a 1, since a 1 digit number + a 2 digit number + a 3 digit number is at most 9+99+999=1107. Since 1 is not part of the given digits, it must be the new digit you added (assuming no leading 0s). So to get this you need to use 6 of the given digits to add together to a 4 digit number. However, the largest of the given digits is an 8, and 8+88+888 < 1000, so you cannot create a 4 digit sum using the given digits, so the total number of digits matches the number of given digits.

[@leoperd3487]

That was my first thought

[@snowfloofcathug]

I really like the compliment to her for trying for an hour before asking for help. And I fully agree! Giving it a proper try *and* asking for help once you’re sure you need it are both amazing habits

[@Fred-yq3fs]

Primary school homework should never take more than 30 min. and it should be practice and nothing else. Go have 3 kids and put 3h in every week day. ffs.

[@snowfloofcathug]

@@Fred-yq3fs 1. I agree that her spending half an hour on the question would’ve already been enough 2. One problem taking an hour once isn’t even bad as long as they’re typically much shorter 3. I can commend her habits without thinking it should take that long

[@smellydeadcat2178]

​@@Fred-yq3fsI'm stumped...ffs?

[@nodroGnotlrahC]

It is most probable that the question was set as homework in order to reinforce the lesson taught in class that day. Before you help your child with their homework it is a good idea to ask them what they were taught, and to show you the relevant pages in their work books. This will often guide you towards the sort of answers required.

[@MarieAnne.]

That's a good point. I definitely remember being taught in elementary school how to break numbers down using their place values, such as: 135 = 100 + 30 + 5 So if that was the lesson taught, it would be obvious the answer would be in the form: a00 + b0 + c = abc, where a, b, c have values 2, 6, 8 in some order.

[@xXJLNINJAXx]

The books suck ass.

[@avpmobi]

I am 68 and just learnt what addend is. I have never heard that word before. I have o and a level maths. But the problem is not the maths it is the English. How about arrange the above digits to form a 1 digit, a 2 digit and 3 digit number which when added together make a number formed of the remaining digits.. Simple!!

[@kmbbmj5857]

I agree that's much better wording. In fact I believe much of the problem so many people have with math and word problems is not the math, but the way the problems are written.

[@beng4186]

@@kmbbmj5857 A poor tradesman blames his tools. It's the not the fault of the question writer that you don't understand fundamental mathematics terminology - that obviously would have been taught in this class.

[@cmilkau]

Understanding these kinds of wordings is part of the training.

[@avpmobi]

​@@beng4186It maybe now it wasn't then or probably when the mother was at school. Not sure it is a term used in the UK now.

[@Fred-yq3fs]

Plain English. No technical pedantic language in primary school. Too obvious I guess.

[@kingoffongpei]

I get why people might be confused, but probably just because the wording and phrasing is rough for people who have been out of school for a long time and don't do math regularly. It took me a minute to see what the teacher's intent was but I think it's pretty fair for second graders who were just learning it in class that week.

[@hrayz]

A student in that class would be introduced to the Wording before these questions. Once they know these words, the question can "make sense" for them. The poor parents, who learned the "old" language, won't know what is being asked.

[@Fred-yq3fs]

@@hrayz That's a problem in and by itself. There is no "new wording" to be had, especially not in primary school. It's basic knowledge. it's thousands of years old. No need to make it new every 2 years... except for the bottom line of text book editors of course.

[@SC-gs8dc]

​@Fred-yq3fs This is the old language. I was taught this in grade 2 about 40 years ago.

[@yippee8570]

@@SC-gs8dc Not in the UK. Never heard of 'addend' before. It's not used when teaching numeracy here.

[@57thorns]

@@yippee8570 English is my second language, but I since i know the word addition I could make it out with no problem.

[@mattdbower]

The problem didn’t state that you should only use the given digits, just that they must all be used, so adding extra terms would open up a huge number of additional solutions.

[@barttemolder3405]

2 + 60 + 800 = 862 ?

[@TheGolux]

or any such variation yeah.

[@Daniel-ef6gg]

Ya, I did 8+20+600=628

[@charliethunkman]

There are 3 0s for a reason...

[@wyattstevens8574]

Good one- here's what I did: 0+0+[permutation of 2, 6, and 8]=[3-digit number] (I thought "stretch your thinking" meant "0 doesn't have to be a single digit.")

[@jdmichal]

Yes. The kids are probably learning or reviewing place values. The context makes the intended answer more obvious.

[@michaelz6555]

Solved it in 30 seconds in my head, but I harbor no illusions that it would be within reach of most second graders.

[@sanamite]

You mean finding out there were 48 solutions?

[@trumpetbob15]

Yeah, I got a correct answer quickly but most of my problem was seeing if I even understood the problem correctly.

[@michaelz6555]

@@sanamite the sufficiency case was one solution, as it would have been for the second graders. I intuited several solutions by digital permutation but didn’t go to the trouble to count them.

[@Rickety3263]

That’s always the hype title for these kinds of videos “third grade Chinese math problem stumps physics professors”

[@nathanielgarza9198]

All they needed to say is create a equation that adds a 1-digit number, a 2-digit number and a 3-digit number with these digits included

[@angrytedtalks]

I am 60. Until today I have never seen the word "addend" used in a math question for 7 year olds. It is a very poorly formatted question.

[@WillRennar]

Took me longer to figure out what the problem wanted me to do than to solve it. It's asking for us to use those 9 digits to make a valid addition problem: 3 digits to make one of the addends, 2 to make another, 1 to make a 3rd, and then the last 3 to make the total. Took me 5 minutes to work that out and 1 minute to come up with 600 + 20 + 8 = 628.

[@66niloc97]

I am 58 UK born and I have never heard of or seen or even been told of the word addend before

[@kevinslater4126]

This is not a problem about math this is a problem about definitions. I can guarantee the kids were taught what to do

[@angelhelp]

Guessing was never a permitted part of math classes, not even when estimation was taught. We had to learn the teacher’s way of solving problems and be able to duplicate it in any problem we encountered.

[@Anonymous8547]

Inspection is a very important to learn in math, particularly in Calc II and Differential equations.

[@mrmimeisfunny]

The real question is more "what does this question mean?" I thought the sum wasn't supposed to be part of the digits. So my answer was 006+062+822=890 which is a stretch to the definition of an "n digit number".

[@asadyousafzai937]

Same. I never even considered that the answer HAD to be from within the remaining digits and therefore couldn't solve it. Although that is a failure on my part since the question didn't state otherwise either

[@ricardoescareno8135]

The key is in the word "equation". With that word, the problem is telling you it's needed to write on both sides of the equal sign

[@davidobermeyer26]

No, a teacher would not accept a number with leading zeros to use up the otherwise unused zeros.

[@shadesoftime]

You used 4 zeroes, 3 twos and a number not even in the question. Are you sure you got it?

[@billy.7113]

Flipping "6" to "9" is not enough. Why not rotating "8" 90° and turning it into ♾️ ? 😮😨

[@leoperd3487]

My immediate thought was, “It says I have to use _all_ the digits shown, but not _only_ the digits shown, meaning there is an infinite amount of answers, as I can just add more numbers infinitely.”

[@cypherknot]

The problem with some of these is the way they are worded. They can be ambiguous and confusing and neglect to clarify just what is wanted.

[@JohnDlugosz]

"What's wrong?" The meta-answer is to look at the child's curriculum. "Decomposing parts of numbers using the positional system" is the key.

[@XTLmaker]

this question feels like its easy but has the most absurd wording ever, i have never once heard 'addend' in my entire life

[@HienNguyenHMN]

Every time it's "student's math problem stumps parents" I guarantee it's something the teacher already explained in class but the student wasn't paying attention.

[@mattm8870]

Or the parents haven't bother to ask the question what did the teacher teach you today.

[@shadesoftime]

Neither did the parents, and they even lack the basic deductive skills to find that "addend" probably means one of the numbers being *add*ed. I'm a non-native English speaker on the verge of failing English literature, but it only took me about 30 seconds to figure this one out. And no, I haven't seen that word once in my life.

[@Henry3.1415]

It took me like a minute to understand what the question is asking but then I got the answer in just 10 seconds

[@Risu0chan]

You missed solutions with a different pattern: 60 + 208 = 260 + 8, 20 + 806 = 820 + 6, etc.

[@corvididaecorax2991]

Those aren't really addition equations. They are equations, but from what I can find addition equation means two or more numbers added together with the sum on the other side of the equals sign. If you have anything but just the sum over there it isn't an addition equation..

[@HarvardHeinous]

@@corvididaecorax2991 Whoa, there's an official definition of "addition equation"? >_

[@corvididaecorax2991]

@@HarvardHeinous Honestly I just Googled it. Some websites listed that as a definition. I'm not sure how official it is, but I didn't find anything that gave any other definition. But it is Mathematics. Everything has definitions.

[@thomasmaughan4798]

I also considered the possibility of a compound sum on the right hand side. But, second grade, probably not.

[@Warcraft_Traveler]

Not a solution, since the problem stated "a 1, a 2 and a 3 digits *addend* ".

[@sparkyshore3543]

The way I see it, there are 216 separate solutions. You can’t include leading zeros but you can count 200+80+6=286, 80+6+200=286, and 286=200+80+6 as three separate valid responses. Just because the responses are equivalent doesn’t make them redundant.

[@TheJaguar1983]

I honestly found it ridiculously easy once I figured out where to put the zeros. Took me about 5 minutes in total. Hats off to anyone who can find any solutions with two non-zero numbers in the same column with no leading zeros.

[@keithwood6459]

I messed with that avenue for a while, but realized there were roadblocks. Can't carry a one, because no odd numbers. Can only carry a two from the first column (6+6+8), but then run out of sixes and nothing else works. Presh's simulation of all possible combos shows the range of answers is all of similar types. Nothing exotic turned up.

[@esteban-zamora]

I am suprised people found this difficult, but tthis being for grade 2s is insane. Maybe grade 4s or 5s

[@TomNimitz]

I see 108 solutions, once an initial candidate is found: - 6 column assignment combinations for the 3 non-zero pairs, - 6 row arrangements for the 1, 2, and 3 digit numbers, and - 3 arrangements for the last column (assuming that 0 counts as a stand-alone 1-digit number). (I did not allow leading zeros beyond the lone zero.)

[@ZeroGravityDog]

200+60+8, or 200+80+6, or 600+80+2, etc etc. A little bit of thought gets you there and a 7-year old might benefit from the exercise without Mom spreading math-panic

[@MercuriusCh]

Literally 90s of thinking is enough to get 2 + 60 + 800 = 862 Or it can be any permutation of 2, 6 and 8

[@handanyldzhan9232]

Since we're supposed to add up 1, 2 and 3-digit numbers together, the sum must have 3 digits too. Also, the most-significant digits of both the 3-digit addend and sum must be the same because all the digits are even numbers. abc de f agh c+e+f is either below 10 or above 19. If there's no 8 among them, at least one 0 is used: 0+2+6=8 0+0+6=6 0+0+2=2 If there's an 8: 0+0+8=8 8+8+6=22 (carry 2) 8+6+6=20 (carry 2) b+d can't exceed 9. d is at least 2, so b

[@Tehom1]

You have a good principled answer. Ruling out the carries first is the way to go if you approach it as a maths problem.

[@johnm5928]

This feels like one of those questions the book author thought was so clever but in reality it was just a terrible idea that probably confused all but the smartest kids in the room.

[@agytjax]

If we solve these kinds of problems, it will only SHRINK my brain, NOT STRETCH them What a complete waste of time ? Why is Presh posting such trivial problems ??

[@elLooto]

Heres a problem with a trivial proof, that almost no-one seems able to do: Prove that people who work for government pay no tax.

[@dtrischuk]

Just a silly idea, but if we decide we can rotate digits... 2 + 26 + 600 + 0 + ∞ = ∞ And, of course, lots of variations.

[@petervanvelzen1950]

You have replaced the 8's by something that is not a digit

[@davidlohmann5098]

I think this is the most clever answer

[@gorak9000]

that has 5 addends, not 3

[@chaosgyro]

​@gorak9000 It requires 1, 2, and 3 digit addends, but doesn't specifically limit itself to those.

[@jademonass2954]

if they had drawn those boxes representing the equation below the question, i bet people would have gotten it easily it was just worded horribly i didnt understand that i needed to use the numbers in the list on the answer too

[@wyattstevens8574]

I think I figured it out- "stretch your thinking" is code: it means, "0 doesn't have to be just one digit!" With that in mind, there's 6 potential solutions: 0+00+[one of 268, 286, 628, 682, 826, or 862] = 3-digit added

[@NihaarB]

those 6 solutions are already included in the answer of 36

[@wyattstevens8574]

@@NihaarB I hadn't even *watched* the video when this solution hit me!

[@NihaarB]

@@wyattstevens8574 👍

[@Coolpig551]

I don’t really get why this was hard for people, you just do 0 + 00 + some combination of 628 and make that equal the same combination

[@shubhambisht9311]

Bro just put salt by finding not 1 but 48 solutions, 😂

[@geekjokes8458]

the trick of this question is context: i'd say that this exercise is in a chapter in the school textbook probably teaches about "tens, hundreds, thousands", and/or how to write and manipulate summations with "carry over", what to do with leading zeroes, etc this exercise is training the students'ability to comprehend and interpret the text, but is also to help the _teacher_ discern the individual students' abilities 1) the student that goes for the low effort answer: 0+00+268=268 (or permutations) 2) the student that struggles to find an answer, whether they do it or not - most of them will be in this category 3) the student that finds a couple of answers or possibly a _pattern_ in those answers and i guess a 4th category would be *you,* the obviously-not-a-second-grader

[@mickyderheld]

i was stunned a first and tried to figure it out while you were explaining, it clicked in my brain as soon as you showed 2:55 the pyramid-like thing. really easy solution that shows how much you have to not overthink at problems like that

[@AshleyReynolds-vc6ly]

Once I realised what the poorly-worded question was asking, it took no time: 600 + 20 + 8 = 628

[@CaptainSweatpants90]

I'll be honest, I tried this one for a bit and legitimately failed because I never stopped to think that the 1-digit addend might just be the last digit of the sum. Such a simple, obvious step, and I discarded it right from the get-go.

[@TheMNB]

IM0, using 0 as an addend is acceptable, but 00 or a number with a leading zero is not as that's not how numbers are typically described. Yes, 00 is 0 and is valid, but I think most teachers would flag that. Also, the answer should not have a leading zero. eg: 8+60+200=268

[@lesnyk255]

My first thought was "What the hell is an 'addend'?"I couldn't even understand the question. I thought it involved addng up the 9 digits after right-padding some of them with 1, 2, or 3 digits. Maybe it would have made sense if I'd had the benefit of classroom context, but I didn't - so it didn't. Kudos to the mom who at least knew what was expected of her.

[@NickKravitz]

The problem doesn't appear to prohibit using decimal separators. Given that we have a 1-digit number as an addend, we can only add decimal separators between the ones and tens places. However, America uses a decimal point while Europe uses a decimal comma. So multiply the final answer by 3.

[@yippee8570]

Only some places in Europe. Please don't group us all together. We're hardly homogenous.

[@verkuilb]

Not quite true. You can put the decimal point as: 60.0 + 2.0 + .8 = 62.8 or 6 + 0.2 + 0.08 = 6.28 or .6 + .02 + .008 = .628 etc. And since you're adding decimals, you can also add negative signs and come up with other creative solutions. Here's just one example: 6 + .28 + (-6.28) = 0.00

[@davidgriffith3938]

Turning the 8's sideways to make infinity symbols will allow a whole new batch of solutions.

[@MisaelMatute76]

The mom: After one hour 1 hour I found no solution This guy: After a few seconds, I have 48 answers, which do you prefer?

[@renedekker9806]

The most difficult part is understanding the question (does a 7-year old know what an "addend" is?). Once understood, it is pretty easy to an answer.

[@HeatherAckroyd]

Having never heard of the term "addend" before, I had to google that. Once I knew that was just the numbers being added together, it took about 10 seconds to see that 600 + 20 + 8 = 628, which uses all the digits and has the 1, 2, and 3-digit numbers required to be added together. Not sure why the 7 yo's mother didn't just look up what "addend" meant, if that was her problem.

[@honourabledoctoredwinmoria3126]

I assume that she noticed 6 + 2 = 8 and kept trying to get a solution that incorporated that, without having to use leading 0s.

[@FUGP72]

Does anyone REALLY believe this was a 2nd grade problem with the word "addend" in it

[@mcb187]

Honestly, once I actually understand the question it was really easy. However, I had no idea what the question even was. It was written extremely poorly for sure.

[@billh5923]

14 years of math including 2 years of calculus and I don't remember being taught the word addend, but if I replace it with number, I come up with 600 + 20 + 8 = 628.

[@the4spaceconstantstetraqua886]

Either the equation uses all the digits, so: 6 + 80 + 800 + 622 = 1508 Or, the solution uses all the digits, which implies that all the *unique* digits must be used, else the question is impossible: 600 + 20 + 8 = 0628 = 628.0 6020 + 8 = 6028 if leading/trailing 0s don't count. Or both, splitting the digits across the addends and the sum. *Note: The question never specified that you have to use only those digits, so a possible solution can be easy:* 6 + 80 + 800 + 622 = 1508 or if the specification is required 800 + 60 + 2 = 862

[@ericpaul4575]

My ass got stuck on 2+6=8 and not wanting to have leading zeros.

[@stumbling]

I noticed that 8+8+6 = 22, that didn't help xD

[@martinferrand4711]

You don't have to have leading zeros 600+20+8=628 no leading zeros

[@collinriley4585]

I considered just “0” for the one digit number wasn’t valid, and there’s only six answers.

[@lemonlord5550]

3:28 when it's written like this it is suddenly so painfully simple.

[@samuelbidocuello]

Always impressed. What I learned by watching this channel was that you don't actually need to do it the hard way but the smart way. I thought the equation wording was the catch, but didn't notice the trick to pairing the digits. Now I know. Those little things is what I tried to teach my little brother because the hard way is the pathway of highest electrical potential in my brain's medium. And we may entertain the thought, but isn't the way the scientific notation treats the zeros the standard?

[@anthonycannet1305]

There are 2 of each number except the 0’s, which there are enough to express a multiple 10 and 100. A number with the digits ABC can be written as A00 + B0 + C. That uses each digit twice and three zeros, there are 6 possible solutions using this formula: 268=200+60+8 286=200+80+6 628=600+20+8 682=600+80+2 826=800+20+6 862=800+60+2 After the step where we figured out that the answer has to be a 3 digit number, I realized the three 0’s meant you could make any 3 digit number and break it into it’s expanded form

[@sm5574]

I can't imagine any on-level second-graders getting this question right.

[@epiccg6872]

i figured it out instantly. 200+60+8=268. i just put the zeros aside and put the excess numbers on two, one, and zero zeros respectively.

[@aaronrobinson4170]

I had to look up what an addend was but after that I realized this was a question about understanding digit placements.

[@ThomasGutierrez]

There is about a 48/7560=0.63% of randomly stumbling on an answer by guessing. If you took 20 seconds per guess, you'd likely stumble onto one of them in an hour.

[@Whenyouarent]

I don’t even know where to start 💀

[@capefry8323]

I had to google the definition of what an "addend" is.

[@timothyosborn637]

I was able to solve it at 4 minutes because I was confused at the terminology. After the premise of the problem was explained the problem was easy. The issue was in the communication of the problem, and this is the root cause of the failure of many students.

[@keithwood6459]

A lot of people are stumbling over the word addend. For some reason I was taught this in grade school. Here’s another word they taught me: Subtrahend. It’s the number that gets subtracted in a subtraction problem. Both of these have been completely useless words my entire life.

[@barneybarney3982]

i guess 2nd grade got me, I wasted like 2min thinking about a solution that will need to add 8 and 2 to carry 1... did not expect to see something that simple.

[@protonmaster76]

I struggled to understand the question as it was written. Once i understood the question, I found an answer quickly

[@gabrielgrey2708]

6+62+288+1000 = 1356. Nowhere is it stated that only the given digits can be used.

[@arandombard1197]

Except it does. You're given 10 digits to use.

[@gabrielgrey2708]

@@arandombard1197 Firstly, there are 9, not 10 given digits. But secondly, and more importantly, it is not stated that you are not allowed to use other digits, only that the listed gidits have to be used.

[@arandombard1197]

@@gabrielgrey2708 It doesn't say you can use other digits. It says you can use these digits. It then gives you the format that those digits must be used in. Pay attention.

[@gabrielgrey2708]

@@arandombard1197 The problem states "use all of these digits", and my solution does use all of those digits. The format is just the preferred format of Presh, not a part of the original problem.

[@rodbennett]

If anyone used the leading zero, I am marking it right, and getting the student to skip a year. If you use leading zeros in year 2 you rock

[@the_obamium_bender9312]

This problem is probably designed to be able to be arranged any way and still hold true.

[@caput_in_astris]

Frankly, took me less than 5 minutes. Started with the last digits: 8+6+0/2/6 don’t work as carry one doesn’t work (would give an odd number in the next column). 8+8+6 could work (carry 2) but impossible in the next column (no 4 and no more 8 available). 6+2+0 could work for twp columns, but not for a third (missing 0 digits). Sole solution is to use only digits added to zeros such as 200+60+8=268 or 800+20+6=826 or other variations 😊

[@TheRealFOSFOR]

I was bored and just tried different combinations on the calculator, and when I finally got the answer... I was like D'oh!!

[@RobG1729]

The pairs of digits and three zeroes clued me in to the answer, and I'd envisioned the addition in columns.

[@Lithium59]

I don’t even understand what on earth the question is even asking. It’s not even asking for an actual output. Nothing is specific.

[@yippy8503]

Since the question just said the equation must have a 1-,2, and a 3-digit addend, I'd like to think it doesn't mean we can only have those three numbers, but we can also add more numbers ourselves. We could add some 4-, 5-digit numbers, or two 3-digit numbers as long as a 1-,2-, 3-digit number is added. Moreover I think we can also use other numbers than 6,2,8,0, as long as we use all those numbers that were required. This would also fulfil the question requirements.

[@SpokeSeadog]

The main problem is either not knowing what addend means or what digits means. 6 + 20 + 800 = 826.

[@blackenedmagic888]

First of all, once I did a search to find out what an "addend" was, it was quite easy for me to find a solution. And, like many others, I had never had a math teacher, professor, etc. ever use the term "addend". Secondly, using "02", etc. and "002", etc. as two and three-digit numbers is invalid - the only times I've ever seen such a notation was when teachers or textbooks used it to explain the addition of numbers with a different number of digits (as in the problem in this video).

[@Alorand]

2:24 I've lived in the US for most of my life and this is the first time I am hearing of "addend", "augend", or "summand".

[@head_snapss7587]

It's actually interesting how the question is made intentionally with the zeros in mind.

[@emperor3744]

I am pretty sure the mom noticed 2 + 6 = 8 but couldn't get it to work with the 1, 2 and 3 digits.

[@duprog]

This type of questions is exactly why you can't get the proper change when you pay something cash at the store. The students are good at solving riddles but useless at real math problems.

[@GourangaPL]

i just started with "where can i put zeros" and found 800 + 60 + 2 = 862 in like 2 seconds

[@mediagirl]

Imagine you have one genius smartass secondgrade who comes up the next day and goes like: " This has 48 different possible solutions. Which one did you want?" (When you are a teacher and have a student like this, it's a serious mindblast. 3 minutes later you will realize that you will NEVER get to busy this kid, because they will be blasting through every problem you give them and how this WILL be a problem if you don't want a constant disruption from them, because they are bored out of their mind.)

[@klightspeed]

3:51 Once I saw that the result was included in the digits used, I quickly saw that a valid solution is units, tens, and hundreds, with the result being a permutation of the distinct non-zero digits.

[@misterno-ice-guy8082]

Weird... This isn't a math question, it's a reading comprehension question. One answer, written out in words, would be: "one plus ten plus one hundred plus six hundred sixty-two million, two hundred eighty-eight thousand equals six hundred sixty-two million, two hundred eighty-eight thousand, one hundred and eleven"

[@WolfRose1Studios]

I was getting too much carry over originally before playing the video, once I saw your first step I face palmed and figured out the rules for all the solutions.

[@paulgreen9059]

As long as it was presented to the kids as a brain-teaser, I think it's a pretty fun little puzzle. Better than pages of addition problems which is what I got in 2nd grade.

[@Skank_and_Gutterboy]

There's no way in hell this was assigned to 2nd graders unless it was extra-credit and nobody was really expected to get it. 2nd grade math is learning to add and subtract through tons and tons of repetition. This video poster does this all the time, he takes these problems that give the average high school math student a lot of problems and says that it was assigned to 8 year olds (usually he says "gifted" 8 year olds). He throws in a strong implication, "A bunch of kiddies got it, what's wrong with you?" Same sh!+, different day.

[@paulgreen9059]

@@Skank_and_Gutterboy It requires both a knowledge of addition, and a flexibility of mind. I don't think 2nd graders lack either of those things, but they need to learn to use both and that's the great thing about brain-teasers.

[@yoshisaurus234]

I got 600+20+8=628 and 600+28+0=628 Didn't expect you could use the zeroes as initial numbers

[@I.____.....__...__]

7:52 Double-zero may not count, but single-zero certain should. - I accidentally got it when I considered making the 1-digit number a 0, then when I wondered if it has multiple solutions, I came up with a template for a bunch of solutions (which is similar to but different from Presh's solution): _0 + xy + z00 = zxy_ Really, the only restriction is to avoid carries. 11:00 The moral of the story is that schools are nasty and children are doomed. Presh's take on this is contrary.

[@deniseockey6204]

Instead of trying to be cute, why don’t they just teach students the basics. The number of students I tutor in HIGH SCHOOL have difficulties with basic math. These are students from “GOOD SCHOOLS!”

[@SC-gs8dc]

This is the basics. I was in a normal public school and this was part of the curriculum 40 years ago. Taking digits and placing them so they add properly were fairly typical questions. The only difference with this one is they didn't put literal boxes in the question itself for students to fill in.

[@sock1533]

For a 2nd grade student this is nuts

[@aguyontheinternet8436]

it honestly doesn't look too bad. There are so many solutions, just some guesswork and a little thinking should easily stumble you into an answer

[@someguy999]

I could see some students getting it if they had done similar questions in class and in their homework assignments. If this just came out of the blue, it would be way too hard imo.

[@mattc3581]

In context of their classwork it is probably very simple. I imagine they have been learning to split up a number into hundreds, tens and units, eg 862 = 800 + 60 + 2. Creating any three digit number from different digits given in the question would then allow it to be split into hundreds, tens and units as an answer to the question.

[@cmilkau]

All nonzero digits are doubled, and we have just the right amount of zeros to simply decompose a 3 digit number, e.g. 628 = 600 + 20 + 8 It's probably a kind of equation the students have seen many times, although it seems challenging that they would recognise them as a possible solution here. Then again, it says "stretch your thinking" so it seems this is a kind of advanced task.

[@gabrielh7517]

I didn't even understand the question until he explained but once I understood it took like 10 minutes to play with the numbers to figure it out then it made so much sense

[@forcelightningcable9639]

Well, now I know why I would always hate word problems as a kid

[@plentyofpaper]

Majored in mechanical engineering, minored in math. I don't think I've ever seen the word "addend" in my life. The - symbols after 1, 2 and 3 also confused me.

[@mattm8870]

The only thing that confusing in that question at 0:34 is the word addend which I never come across before. But the fact there's 9 digits listed to be used and the fact that digits are repeated means they looking for an answer in the form of X+XX+XXX=XXX. So 6+20+800=826 you can swap the 2, 6 and 8 around.