A mum who was baffled by her seven-year-old’s maths homework reached out to other parents for help - and it was a lot more confusing that she first thought.
Angie Werner, from Australia, shared a photo of the question on the Breastfeeding Mama Talk Facebook group, who then shared the image with HuffPost UK.
“Ok, we’re all stumped,” Werner wrote. “My second grader’s (Year 3, ages seven and eight) homework - help.”
The maths problem is as follows: “There are 49 dogs signed up to compete in the dog show. There are 36 more small dogs than large dogs signed up to compete.
“How many small dogs are signed up to compete?”
If you’re anything like us, you might assume quite quickly that the answer is 13. Wrong.
Werner went back to her daughter’s maths teacher, who revealed that the answer was actually 42.5.
“The school worded it wrong,” she told Popsugar. “The answer would be 42.5, though, if done at an age appropriate grade.”
By choosing the number 36, they mistakenly got into half dog territory. Not the one.
According to the mum, the answer is arrived at through these sums: 49 - 36 = 13; 13 divided by 2 = 6.5; and then 36 + 6.5 = 42.5.
If you managed to get 42.5, we salute you.