A question has been doing rounds on social media.
"I borrowed $50 from mum and $50 from dad to buy a bag costing $97. After the purchase, I had $3 left. I returned $1 to dad and $1 to mum, and reserved $1 for myself. I now owe $49+$49=$98 plus the $1 I reserved for myself, which is $99. Where is the missing $1?," reads the question.
The missing dollar has intrigued several internet users. While going forward with the calculation from the point where the kid borrowed the money one dollar is missing.
“This is a counting trick”
"The problem with the question is that it is not clear what we are trying to calculate. Is it the amount of money you owe? Or is it the amount of money spent? The amount you have? The final calculation is sort of a combination of each. Owe + owe + have = does not make sense. What we are looking for, then, is where the money went. 49 came from Mom, 49 came from Dad. 97 went to the shop. 1 went to you. 49 + 49 = 97 + 1. Solved!," explains one Quora user.
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"You have the wrong perspective. You took $100, you paid back $2, effectively borrowing $98. You spent $97 of that $98 leaving you $1 change. There is no missing $1, you only appear to have a missing $1 because your perspective is incorrect. The $1 you reserved yourself is part of the $98, not additional to the $98. The other $2 you repaid so it's no longer part of the equation," explains another.
Mathematics teacher, Rachel Frasier, who had shared this question in 2019 on Twitter, explains: "There is no missing dollar! You started with $100 and spent $97. With the $3 left, you gave $1 to mom, $1 to dad, and kept $1. You owe them $98 but kept $1, which you can count towards what you owe them. So, you need $97 more to pay them back (cost of shirt)! “
To this another Twitter user explains: "The part of this that trips people up I think is the last bit, which is technically incorrect: "together that's $98. Plus the $1 I kept is $99" because it's a debt of $98, so an extra dollar actually nets $97 not 99, which is the money that was spent on the shirt and checks out."
What is your explanation for this riddle?
