Nerdle #126 Answer
Wednesday, May 25, 2022
4+1*8=12
- Structure
- A+B*C=DE
- Type
- Mixed Addition and Multiplication
- Result
- 12
How the clues would have read
- Today's equation begins with a single-digit number.
- This puzzle uses addition and multiplication operations.
- The result is a 2-digit even number.
The numbers behind it
- Divisibility: 4 is divisible by 2, 1 is prime, 8 is divisible by 2 and 4, and 12 is divisible by 2, 3, 4, and 6
- Digital roots: 4 → 4, 1 → 1, 8 → 8, 12 → 1+2 = 3
- Prime factorization: 4 = 2², 1 has no prime factors, 8 = 2³, 12 = 2²×3
Why the structure matters
This puzzle's shape is A+B*C=DE — a mixed addition and multiplication, where each letter stands for one digit. Recognising the shape before the arithmetic is what separates a three-guess solve from a six-guess struggle: once you know the equation is a mixed addition and multiplication, most of the search space is gone before you have spent a single guess.
The result, 12, factors as 2²×3 — those factors are exactly the operations that could have produced it.
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