I've always been terrible at math. Seriously, even the simplest equations, or basic algebra, are enough to frustrate me to tears.
That's why I have absolutely no chance of solving the following mind-bendingly-difficult math puzzle which has repeatedly gone viral on social media over the years. Think you've got what it takes to crack it? Then read on.
According to The Independent, the conundrum in question is called the missing square puzzle - an optical illusion used in math classes to help students learn about geometrical figures.
As you can see in the illustration above, the puzzle depicts two arrangements made of similar shapes in slightly different configurations which seem to form a right-angled triangle. The trouble is that one of the triangles has a hole in it.
The puzzle is this: how can there be a space missing when the two triangles are made up of the exact same shapes?
As you can see, Twitter users all over the world have had a field day with this one, which has left many people utterly baffled:
So what's the answer? Well to start with, this isn't an optical illusion at all. If you observe the diagram closely, you can see that the areas of the colored pieces have equal values of 32 cells.
However, although both figures look like triangles measuring 13×5, they actually boast different areas of 13×5 = 32.5 cells. In layman's terms, this means that the first triangle is, in actual fact, a concave quadrangle.
But this is far from the first time that a math question has bamboozled the internet.
Back in October, a question from the Maths Standard two exam, provided by the New South Wales Education Standards Authority, in New South Wales in Australia, completely threw most of the students who attempted it.
The question includes a box plot of temperature data and instructs pupils to: "calculate the number of chirps expected in a 15-second interval when the temperature is 19° Celsius. Give your answer correct to the nearest whole number."
According to News.com.au, a NESA spokeswoman has since acknowledged the difficulty of the question, stating:
"NESA confirms that all questions asked within the Maths Standard 2 exam were within the scope of the syllabus.
"All HSC exam papers are designed to differentiate student achievement. NESA will monitor marking of the Maths Standard 2 paper very closely. Mathematics education is a priority for the NSW Government."