# How Augur answers a question

Ask, report, challenge, final answer: one example from start to finish.

Review flag: this guide still needs review. It is guide 2 of 4 in "Start here", about a 6 minute read.

Every Augur Lituus answer follows the same four steps. This guide follows one example question from the moment it's asked to the moment an application can use the answer.

## The example question

"Has room-temperature superconductivity been independently demonstrated at ambient pressure?" The possible outcomes are YES, NO and Invalid. Information cutoff: 8 Sep 2027, 00:00 UTC.

1. **A question opens.** Anyone can ask a multiple-choice question and pay a fee in REP. The fee funds a reward for reporting the right answer, and the reward grows the longer the question waits. In the example: the query is opened and the fee paid, 15 REP.
2. **Report what happened.** Stake REP equal to the fee on the outcome you saw. Until its appeal period ends, anyone can challenge it. In the example: a report of YES with a 15 REP bond.
3. **Challenge a wrong answer.** Think a report is wrong? Stake double its bond on the right outcome. Each challenge doubles the bond again and restarts the appeal period. In the example: a challenge of NO with a 30 REP bond.
4. **Get paid when it's final.** When an appeal period ends without a new challenge, the latest answer is final. Winners are paid, and apps act on the answer. In the example: the final answer is NO.

## Terms in this guide

- **REP.** Reputation: the token that secures Augur's oracle.
- **Report.** A proposed answer to a question, backed by a REP bond.
- **Bond.** REP put at risk behind an answer. Wrong answers lose most of their bond to the winners.
- **Challenge.** A different answer posted with a larger bond. It reopens the question.

More terms are on the [Learn page](/learn.md).