Last Updated:May 24, 2025, 13:36 IST
Previous research suggests that maths competency is declining among US students, particularly among specific racial and socioeconomic groups.
It was a multiple-choice question.(Photo Credit: Reddit)
Mathematics is subjective. While many enjoy solving difficult problems, others struggle with it. The story of this US-based father was no different. Puzzled, he turned to social media to seek help to solve his 10-year-old son’s fifth-grade maths homework, which even left the internet confused.
The homework included a question that required considerable effort to solve.
He took to Reddit for what was an MCQ, with four options to choose from. The father noted there “must be something missing” from the equation, as none of the options appeared to be correct.
“This particular question appeared on my son’s maths homework the other day. They reviewed the answers in class today, and it appears that the answer is A,” the post read.
The question read, “Kayla has 18 bottles of bubbles. She wants to give two bottles to each of her six friends. How many bottles will she have left over?” After that, children were asked to choose one of four expressions that “solves the problem.”
The father pointed out that none of the answers seemed to be correct and expected the answer to be “18 – (6 × 2).” The post prompted several users to share their reactions. While many agreed with the father, others tried to solve the math equation.
A user commented, “Your answer seems to be correct; none of those options are right.” Another one wrote, “I feel terrible these kids have to learn anything like this. How can the child be expected to learn when even a multiple-choice question doesn’t contain the correct answer.”
One of them shared, “She’s splitting the 18 bottles into sets of 2, that’s 18 / 2. Then, she’s splitting those sets of 2 among her 6 friends. That’s why you divide by 6 next. That leaves you with A.”
“Step simpler math, 9÷6 is one, with 3 to spare. So she would have 3 sets of two left,” a comment read.
Another person wrote, “You’re correct, the teacher is wrong. If you simplify you get 1.5 which doesn’t make any sense in the context of the problem.” A person commented, “This is what happens when you use AI to write the questions.”
Give it a try and see if you can solve this equation.
Previous research undertaken by organisations such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) suggests that maths competency is declining among US students, particularly among specific racial and socioeconomic groups.
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Delhi, India, India
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News viral US Dad, Puzzled By Son’s 5th Grade Math Quiz, Asks Internet For Help