A math problem has left the internet stumped and social media users scrambling from their nearest protractor to figure it out.
Students, teachers and social media are baffled by a tricky math question shared on Threads by British elementary school math teacher and TV presenter Bobby Seagull. The University Challenge star shared a photo of the problem that his friend’s 7-year-old brought home from school.
“I’m a school maths teacher… and I can’t solve it,” Seagull admitted in the Thread with 117,000 views. “Any ideas? Am I missing something?”
The problem reads: “5)a) Dina is baking. The cake bakes from 11 o’clock until half past 11. The brownies bake from 10 past 11 until 25 to 12. Do you agree with Dina? Explain your answer.”
If the problem seems to be a head scratcher, that could be because it lacks key details, making it more of a discussion prompt than a clear calculation, former teacher and curriculum developer Caroline Farkas told Newsweek.
“That’s what makes it a perfect conversation starter rather than a straightforward calculation,” she said.
The answer to the math problem can be found at the end of this report
Farkas explained that, when given the necessary information, time-based questions often challenge students because they require converting minutes to hours and interpreting phrases such as “half past.” She recommends using visual tools such as number lines and analog clocks to help learners come up with the correct answer.
Meanwhile, fellow Threads users attempted to work it out.
“What’s the actual question?” more than one person asked.
“These are statements not questions,” someone else said.
“If you are supposed to agree with Dina, Dina must have made a statement. Since there is no statement, I’d assume the teacher forgot to type out one line of the task,” a third person attempted to explain.
One professional added, “The first half of the statement before ‘5a)’ tells you that cake takes 30 minutes to cook and that brownies take 10 minutes longer then (sic) cake. As a teacher, I expect you to teach ‘show or read the whole question before attempting to answer.’”
Other users criticized the confusing wording of the question.
“I’ve never heard anyone say 25 to 12. That’s just 11:35. You get half past, quarter after, quarter to. Everything else is generally rounded up. In the case of baking, you’d want to use the exact minute,” one person said.
Another took issue with the cook times listed in the problem.
“Brownies take 5 minutes less, no? 11.10-11.35 is 25 mins, vs 30 for the cake.”
But I have no idea what Dina’s stance on this is and whether I agree with her,” someone wrote.
Answer: More information is needed to solve this problem