The Weight Problem of Bachet de Méziriac

A merchant had a forty-pound measuring weight that broke into four pieces as the result of a fall. When the pieces were subsequently weighed, it was found that the weight of each piece was a whole number of pounds and that the four pieces could be used to weigh every integral weight between 1 and 40 pounds.

What were the weights of the pieces?

Know Some History Before Doing Math

What if I tell you that, some mathematics formulas are true only after a period of time…

A Cambridge Interview Question

If I say the numbers from 1 to 100 in a random order and I miss a number, how would you determine the missing number in your head only?

Answered by a Quora user, Obinna Okechukwu:

You can obviously take the sum of all numbers and compare to 5050, but I’ll do things a little differently if I was given the challenge.