This famous puzzle requires you to use the information to limit your search. We know when Augustus died, so when he was born wasn't hundreds of years before, was it?! That helps you think about what would be reasonable for x and x2. Remember that x² means x multiplied by itself.

For instance if we guess that perhaps he was 42 (x) in the year x² . Then we multiply x (42) by x (42) to get x² which would be 1764. Now could that be right? If Augustus was 42 in 1764, how old would he have been in in 1871 when he died? Perhaps you want to try another number. Will you want to make his age (x) more or less than 42?

This method of solving the problem is called 'guess and check'.