Only 1% Can Solve This Math Problem
63K views · Feb 27, 2026 · Science & Technology
Comments · 208
@denvercheddie · 7 months ago · pinned
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7SaAdAyUU0&t=391">6:31</a> You could have gotten the answer of 2 much faster. Recognize that a+a^2+a^3 = a*0 = 0. Same with beta. Then that leaves us with 1+1.
42
@andresgradilla146 · 7 months ago
I went one step further in exercise 2.<br><br>When you have 1 + alpha + alpha² + alpha³ + 1 + beta + beta² + beta³ just take out alpha and beta as common term and you get<br><br>1+alpha(1+alpha+alpha²) +1+beta(1+beta+beta²) and you can simplify both sums in parentheses to 0 which multiplied by either alpha or beta will still be 0, so you end up with 1+1, which will of course be 2.
5
@Johnny-w5q3k · 7 months ago
x^(n+1) - 1 = (x - 1)(x^n + ... x^2 + x + 1)<br><br>is useful trick to remember
35
@ai314159 · 7 months ago
Missed opportunity to discuss cyclotomic polynomials and roots of unity.
37
@frendlyleaf6187 · 7 months ago (edited)
All you need is x^5 = 1 AND x ≠ 1 using these two the question is trivial. And obviously 12.
49
@old_grey_cat · 7 months ago
I think the piece would have been improved by pointing out that the starting equation means we are dealing with complex numbers, so we won't try to solve for X itself.
2
@renesperb · 6 months ago
Write the equation as (x^5-1)/(x-1)=0 .Hence if x≠ 1 we have x^5 = 1 . The rest is as discussed in the video.
@ADITYA2009-j2u · 6 months ago
Learning-multiply with a specific term to eqn and subtract it with previous eqn to get the required value<br><br>Condition eqn should not contain coefficients so that terms should be cancelling.
1
@YennetiDhiraj · 7 months ago
It was fun and an easy one, seemed hard at first glance but became easy as soon as I saw the given equation properly. Thanks for bringing questions for us to solve.
2
@tommcintyre8391 · 7 months ago
I could see it, but not by being smart - only by being quite familiar with the trick of multiplying any geometric series of powers of x by (x-1) to collapse it to a binomial.<br>Fun problems!
3
@Mc_Rbx-01 · 3 months ago
The solution to it is very beautiful wow. Very good video
@S8EdgyVA · 7 months ago
I can’t believe I tried to factor out the quadratic t^2+5t+6 (I was struggling with the problem and tried to factor out the bottom expression) as (t-2)(t-3) instead of (t+2)(t+3)
1
Up next
Very Few Can Solve Tolstoy's Impossible Math Riddle
MindYourDecisions · 40K views
The Algebra Trick You Didn't See Coming
SyberMath · 18K views
This Simple Math Problem Is Trickier Than It Looks!
Turbo Math · 1K views
This Will Blow Away Your Mind! 🤯
Brain Station · 73K views
Can You Solve The Milk And Coffee Mixing Puzzle? Feat. @Pink Pencil
MindYourDecisions and Pink Pencil · 92K views
How Newton Calculated Pi in Just One Afternoon
STEM in Motion by Gaurav · 830K views
√7 is missing – and it took 2000 years to find the real reason why
Mathinity · 445K views
Can You Solve This Romanian Olympiad Problem?
MindYourDecisions · 52K views
17-Year-Old Solves Three-Decade-Old Conjecture
Turing · 999K views
Actual Recruiting Puzzle £200,000 Salary Job. Can You Solve It?
MindYourDecisions · 147K views
Can You Solve The Equation That Stumped A Young Sherlock Holmes?
MindYourDecisions · 44K views
Popular Science's "Unsolved" Car Puzzle
MindYourDecisions · 253K views
What Pros Know About Screws That Beginners Don't.
Five Duck Studio · 9.8M views
How Companies Use Design to Spy on You
Design Theory · 102K views
The rest of the world does names differently.
RobWords · 1.2M views
The Professor Who Taught People How To Think (1962)
ABC Science and ABC Australia · 2.9M views
Can you solve these 7 baffling puzzles?
MindYourDecisions · 679K views
The Reciprocals of Primes - Numberphile
Numberphile · 2.1M views
Fun Problem From Math Competition
MindYourDecisions · 136K views
How much will the water level rise? Everyone got the wrong answer
MindYourDecisions · 105K views