( ) + ( ) + ( ) + ( ) + ( ) = 30
This is what you have for equation. The following are the numbers that you can use to fill in the brackets:
1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15
You can repeat the numbers if required. The resulting sum should be 30.
This question appeared in the UPSC final examination in December 2013. Out of all the people who appeared, only one guy was able to solve this namely Gaurav Agarwal.
Can you solve it?
Solution:
There is no mention if you can use sign or not and thus the only possible way to get this is as follows:
(15 - 9) + (13 - 7) + (7 - 1) + (9 - 1) + (13 - 9)
If you solve inside the brackets, you will get the following equation
6 + 6 + 6 + 8 + 4
Adding all these numbers, you will get 30 which is the required sum.