A Riddle for Really Smart People! Can You Answer Correctly?

An interesting riddle intrigued many people around the globe in 2020. Individuals of all ages got a kick out of cracking the code to this mindboggling scenario—or at least attempting to crack the code! Are you up for the challenge?

Playing with numbers can be great fun but sometimes getting to the bottom of a tricky riddle is challenging. Puzzling games are the perfect way to test your brainpower. See how quickly you can get to the bottom of this conundrum!

A number riddle reflects the perplexing sequence 5, 6, 10, 19, 35, ? | Photo: AmoMama

The viral conundrum presents a sequence of numbers: 5, 6, 10, 19, and 35, followed by a question mark. The aim is simple ... or at least initially seemed simple. Code crackers are tasked with figuring out what comes after 35.

MORE COMPLEX THAN EXPECTED

What appears to be a simple riddle is quickly found to be much more complex than anticipated. It certainly is not for straightforward thinkers and requires puzzle masters to bring their A-game!

A girl holds a Rubix cube in her hands and it attempting to crack the code | Photo: Pexels/Monstera

If you put on your best thinking cap, you might have it figured out by now ... if you don't, here is a hint: re-read the number sequence and use your mathematical squaring skills to figure out the answer.

THE ANSWER

The answer is 60! Puzzle wizards would have arrived at this answer sooner or later, but if you're still curious about how the pattern worked, we'll show you.

First, it is important to determine what the pattern might be. We observe that the square of a number (starting from 1) is added to a number in the riddle series to get the next.

MAKING SENSE OF THE RIDDLE

A number's square is that number multiplied by itself. This leads us to the next important step in solving this puzzle: presenting the squares in sequence.

It would look like this: 5 + Square of 1 = 6, 6 + Square of 2 = 10, 10 + Square of 3 = 19, 19 + Square of 4 = 35, 35 + Square of 5 = ?

THE PATTERN

Number lovers would have noticed the pattern by now and consequently figured out the answer to the perplexing riddle ... What comes after 5, 6, 10, 19, and 35 must be 60.

Once that was revealed, the penny hopefully dropped, and the answer makes sense. Not everyone came to that conclusion quickly, so if you did, pat yourself on the back!