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LOOK: Grade school level math problem baffles 10-year-old's dad

3 min read
LOOK: Grade school level math problem baffles 10-year-old's dad

Another elementary math problem has been baffling parents all over social media. Can you solve it?

Parents in the U.K. are finding yet another elementary math assignment difficult.

At first glance, the problem, which was designed for 10-year-old students, may seem easy enough.

“Calculate the perimeter of these composite rectilinear shapes,” the question asks.

But the father of one of the students posted a photo of the homework on Facebook, hoping his friends could help him with it.

“My son’s grandma had spent a while helping him with his homework and most of it was straightforward but this one question left her stumped,” he told the Manchester Evening News. “I then spent an hour or so trying to work it out but found it impossible. I even sent it to a friend who got a 1st class degree in economics and they were baffled by it as well. A couple of friends are maths teachers too so I’ve sent it to them but so far I’ve heard nothing back. I really do think it is impossible and it is certainly not something a ten-year-old can answer. It just does not make sense.”

Can you solve this maths question which has left pupils and parents scratching their heads?https://t.co/jmt1pbInNH

— Manchester News MEN (@MENnewsdesk) June 7, 2016

@MENnewsdesk This is a perfectly fine task. There is nothing wrong with it. The length of top and right sides are equal to bottom and left.

— Skeptical Bystander (@SBystander) June 9, 2016

But one twitter user had no difficulty answering the problem. Find out what the correct answer is on the next page

When the news outlet tweeted the 43-year-old dad’s dilemma on their official twitter account, they received criticism from parents who believed it wasn’t really that difficult.

Some responses even questioned the dad and the reporter’s intellectual capacity.

While others pointed out  that the question was not framed properly.

@MENnewsdesk only confusion is the 2cm on the second one not being labelled clearly as it being the vertical length. But not “impossible”

— Mark D (@moormark12) June 7, 2016

Ending the discussion, one twitter user provided the best solution quite simply for the benefit of those who still couldn’t solve it.

@MENnewsdesk @AlexandraRucki 44 for both. Totals across and down must equal. 2nd has extra 2x 2s in vertical

— B K Eindvistle (@eindvistle) June 7, 2016

This isn’t the first time parents and non-parents alike have been stumped by a math problem for kids, providing further evidence that math skills tend to fade in time and that it’s nothing you can’t relearn in no time.

If you have any insights, questions or comments regarding the topic, please share them in our Comment box below. 

Got a parenting concern? Read articles or ask away and get instant answers on our app. Download theAsianparent Community on iOS or Android now!

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Written by

Bianchi Mendoza

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