网上疯传的苹果香蕉椰子谜题
A "simple" brainteaser for children has sparked an online debate, with many adults arguing about what the correct answer is.
一个看似简单的儿童谜语近日在网上引发热论，很多成年人为正确答案到底是什么争论不休。
The apples, bananas and coconuts conundrum is being widely shared online, leaving some puzzle solvers perplexed.
Problem solvers must work out which number each fruit piece symbolizes in order to crack the brainteaser.
Internet users have been arguing that the answer to the final equation is anything from 14, 15, 16 to 20.
The Problem Site explains:
3 apples = 30, so 1 apple = 10.
10 + 2 bananas = 18, so 2 bananas = 8 and 1 banana = 4
4 - 1 coconut = 2, so 1 coconut = 2
Therefore, 1 coconut + 1 apple + 1 banana = 2 + 10 + 4 = 16
However, if you look a little closer at the problem you will see that 16 is not the right answer.
"Although this is the answer everyone seems to be giving, it's actually not correct. Notice that each bunch of bananas has four bananas (look closely!) except the one in the final line, which has 3 bananas. Also notice that the third line has one coconut, while the last line has only 1/2 of a coconut," The Problem Site adds. "This changes things!"
3 apples = 30, so 1 apple = 10.
10 + 8 bananas = 18, so 8 bananas = 8 and 1 banana = 1
4 - 1 coconut = 2, so 1 coconut = 2
Therefore, 1/2 coconut + 1 apple + 3 bananas = 1 + 10 + 3 = 14
So there you have it, 14 is the right answer.
Or is it? Dr Kevin Bowman, course leader for Mathematics at the University of Central Lancashire, told Mail Online that due to the ambiguity of the riddle, "there are an infinite amount of possible answers".