What is the missing number and why?

[Equate]

What's the missing number and why?

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/2408/a89raetsel.png​

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[drizzle]

5 [and this just to submit the post, damn 4 characters! ]

 

[ƒ(x)]

5 [and this just to submit the post, damn 4 characters! ]

why?

 

[drizzle]

why?

21
23
25
27

 

[ƒ(x)]

I thought that too, but you beat me to it. You don't think there might be a pattern in the columns?

 

[drizzle]

24 22 22 28

hold on a sec!

 

[drizzle]

1^st sum [raw]= 1^st sum [column]-3
2^nd sum [raw]= 2^nd sum [column]+1
3^rd sum [raw]= 3^rd sum [column]+3
4^th sum [raw]= 4^th sum [column]-1

so

 

[ƒ(x)]

I guess that works. But this puzzle could have more than one answer. When you add all of the number up you get 91. So the ? could be a 9, making the total a perfect square

 

[davee123]

Another (and stupid) way to get 5:

Each row and column has two numbers that have 4 letters, hence the missing number must have 4 letters. Each row has an odd number of odd values, and each column has an even number of odd values. Hence, the missing number must be odd. The only choices being 5 or 9. Looking at the rows, no number is more than 3 away from its neighbors, hence, the number cannot be 9, and must be 5.

DaveE

 

[revelations]

What about 4?

Look at the total for each column and each row.

Column 1: 24
Column 2: 23
Column 3: ?
Column 4: 27

Row 1: 21
Row 2: 23
Row 3: ?
Row 4: 27

If you use 4, that means the 3rd row is 24 and the 3rd column is 21. Therefore there is a 1:1 ratio of the frequency of column sums to row sums.

..right?

 

[drizzle]

What about 4?

Look at the total for each column and each row.

Column 1: 24
Column 2: 23
Column 3: ?
Column 4: 27
Row 1: 21
Row 2: 23
Row 3: ?
Row 4: 27

If you use 4, that means the 3rd row is 24 and the 3rd column is 21. Therefore there is a 1:1 ratio of the frequency of column sums to row sums.

..right?

check it :)