When I was in kindergarten, I couldn't wait to start getting homework. Big kids had homework, so I thought having it would mean I was more like a grownup.
Of course, I was much less happy about it once I actually started bringing home assignments.
Luckily, they're usually pretty easy in elementary school. I don't know what I would have done if my assignments were super difficult.
A second grader in 2018 had to deal with a challenging assignment and didn't know how to solve it. Mom Angie Warner didn't know how to help either, so she posted the math problem online.
Angie turned to the Breastfeeding Mama Talk Privately Facebook page, and everyone who saw her post was equally baffled by the math question.
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Check out the homework problem below, and see if you can figure out the correct answer to the question!
Photos: Pexels / Pixabay; Facebook / Angie Warner
[H/T: PopSugar]
Angie posted the question to Facebook on January 24, 2018, and it quickly racked up a lot of comments.
Almost nobody could figure out the answer!
Here's the question:
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?
Do you know what the answer is?
Many people immediately think the solution is 36, but that's actually not correct.
If you're totally stumped, don't worry, you're not alone.
Adults everywhere are completely confused by this second grader's math homework.
OK, so why isn't the answer 36? Well, because there are 36 more small dogs than large dogs.
So if there are 13 large dogs and 36 small dogs, that does equal 49 — but that means there's only 23 more small dogs than large dogs.
Angie and her kiddo decided to leave the question blank, hoping that the teacher would explain the answer.
Unfortunately, the teacher was out, and the sub didn't have the answers for the homework!
A few days later, Angie updated everyone on what the teacher had to say: even she couldn't figure it out!
Finally, five days later, Angie got an answer from the school district. Scroll down to find out the correct solution!
Drumroll please… The answer is: 6.5 large dogs and 42.5 small dogs!
Yes, apparently there are half dogs in this crazy math problem.
Here's the math behind the problem. What you're doing is trying to solve for x. Think of large dogs as "x" and small dogs as "y."
49 = x+y and y = x+36
So, combine the two equations and you get:
49 = x + x+36
49 = 2x + 36
13 = 2x
x = 6.5
y = 42.5
Were you able to figure out the math problem, or were you totally stumped?
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