Former Rare Staff
A question on a second grader’s math test has a few completely beside themselves.
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Homework assignments are usually easier in elementary school, explains a post in Little Things. But the question one second grader brought home left many stumped.
The problem was posted online by the second grader’s mother, Angie Warner. It asks:
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?
First, take some time to figure out the answer by yourself.
If you got 36, just know that you both aren’t alone and are quite incorrect.
Many sought to subtract 36 small dogs from the 49 dogs total, meaning there would be 13 large dogs in the show. However, if one were to compare 36 small dogs against the 13 large, they’d find that there is only a 23 dog difference.
It’s here when Warner decided to leave the answer blank, hoping that the teacher would explain the answer. But as it would turn out, the teacher was also unaware.
She too was unable to answer the question as she copied it from the district’s website.
After days of waiting, Warner got the answer.
There were 6.5 large dogs at the show and 42.5 small dogs. As noted, trying to visualize a half dog makes the question that much more complicated to think about.
If anyone wants to get to the answer, Little Things breaks it down with a nice formula:
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
Amazing.
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