This classic math riddle has been confusing people all over social media! It sounds like a simple calculation at first, but it is actually a clever puzzle that tests how carefully you read the wording.
The riddle asks: “Divide 60 by half then add 20. What do you get?”
What makes this problem so tricky is the exact phrasing of “divide by half.” When we read this quickly, our brain often jumps to the phrase “divide in half.” If you divide 60 in half, you get 30. Adding 20 to that would give you 50, which is the most common wrong answer!
However, dividing by half means dividing by the fraction 1/2 (or 0.5). Mathematically, when you divide a number by a half, it is the same as multiplying it by two.
So, 60 divided by 1/2 equals 120.
Once you have that correct first step, the rest is easy. You simply take your 120 and add the final 20 to it.
Answer: 140.
