You all must be wondering how you can entertain yourself by using ‘Four fours’ but Four fours are a mathematical puzzle and solving puzzles is surely interesting. The major aim of four fours is to find the understandable mathematical expression for each whole-number starting from 0 to some maximum, but only by using common mathematical symbols and the digits should be only four (4) no other digits allowed.
Certainly, it requires some skills and mathematical reasoning but once you will understand how it works then it will get easy for you.
Some of the printed documents are there on the problem of four fours and their solutions, the first of which is in “Knowledge: an illustrated magazine in science” which was published in 1881.
One more textbook of Thomas Dilworth’s which included a similar kind of problem which had arranging of four identical digits which can be equal to a certain amount was “The Schoolmaster’s Assistance, how you can be a compendium of Arithmetic in Both ways Practical and Theoretical” was published in 1734.
Interesting Mathematical story : Hello mathematican, Give me the answer otherwise I’ll kill you
Here are a few examples that will help you understand how ‘Four fours’ is a mathematical entertainment, the rest all is for you to discover.
- 1 = (4 + 4 – 4) / 4
- 2 = (4 x 4) / (4 + 4)
- 4 = (4 – 4) x 4 + 4
- 14 = 4 + 4 + 4 + √4
- 25 = 4! +√ 4 – 4/4
- 50 = 44 + (4! / 4)
- 82 = 4 x (4! – 4) + √4
- 100 = 4 x 4! + √ 4+√ 4
Now, it would have been more clear how it works right? All kinds of arithmetic operators can be used. The special operators including factorial, raise to power, and the square root are allowed too.
Interesting Mathematical story : Can you tell me the 100 word without A B, C, and D
In conclusion
this was all about the usage of four fours and how many different mathematical ways it can be used and solved. Interestingly it shows how there are so many ways through which numbers can be expressed.
