Challenge yourself with a colorful emoji math puzzle that has been making the rounds on social media! It asks a simple question right at the top: “Can you solve this?” It looks like a fun elementary-school riddle, but it is a great test of basic algebra and logic.
The image shows a system of three equations using purple star and red heart emoji symbols:
* Star + Heart = 20
* Star – Heart = 10
* Star ÷ Heart = ?
What makes this puzzle so fun is how quickly you can solve it by looking at the relationships between the numbers. If two numbers add up to 20 and their difference is 10, you can easily find their values!
Let’s break it down step-by-step:
* From the first two equations, if Star – Heart = 10, then Star = Heart + 10.
* Substitute that into the first equation: (Heart + 10) + Heart = 20, which means 2 × Heart + 10 = 20, so 2 × Heart = 10, meaning the Heart = 5.
* If the Heart is 5, then the Star must be 15 (since 15 + 5 = 20, and 15 – 5 = 10).
* For the final equation, you divide the value of the Star by the Heart: 15 ÷ 5.
Answer: 3.
