As an example, consider problem 26 in the Rhind papyrus, which asks for a solution of (written in modern notation) the equation . This is solved by false position. First, guess that to obtain, on the left, . This guess is a good choice since it produces an integer value. However, 4 is not the solution of the original equation, as it gives a value which is three times too small. To compensate, multiply (currently set to 4) by 3 and substitute again to get , verifying that the solution is .
