Daily Math Puzzle: 2026-04-20
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2026-04-20
Detective Anya Sharma is investigating a peculiar case of missing rare artifacts from an ancient vault. She discovers that the first thief managed to pilfer exactly 20% of the total artifacts. Before the police could secure the scene, a second, more opportunistic thief, seeing the partial breach, then made off with 25% of the *remaining* artifacts. What percentage of the *original total* number of artifacts was successfully recovered by Detective Sharma, meaning they were still in the vault?
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Solution
60% — Let the original total number of artifacts be 100%.
1. The first thief stole 20% of the original artifacts.
Amount remaining after the first theft = 100% - 20% = 80% of the original.
2. The second thief stole 25% of the *remaining* artifacts.
This means 25% of the 80% that was left.
25% of 80% = (0.25) * 80% = 20% of the original artifacts.
3. Total artifacts stolen:
First thief stole 20% (of original).
Second thief stole 20% (of original).
Total stolen = 20% + 20% = 40% of the original artifacts.
4. Artifacts remaining (recovered) in the vault:
Original total - Total stolen = 100% - 40% = 60%.
The trick lies in understanding that the second percentage (25%) is applied to the *reduced* amount, not the original total. A common mistake is to simply add the percentages (20% + 25% = 45% stolen, leading to 55% remaining).
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