Interesting

This Math Question For Class 5 Students In China Has Stumped Adults

IANS, 02 Feb, 2018 04:22 PM

The world is divided into two kinds of people - those who love Math and those who don't. And this question meant for fifth graders in China will either reinstate your love for the subject, or make you hate it even more. But chances are you won't be able to look away from it until you've given it some thought.

11-year-olds at a primary school in China's Shunqing were asked to answer a question that many online have termed unsolvable, reports BBC. "If a ship had 26 sheep and 10 goats onboard, how old is the ship's captain?" asks the question. Pictures of the question have since created quite a stir on Chinese social media as many have been left utterly confused about the answer.

Before you think there was a misprint on the exam paper or that the question is incomplete, let us tell you, the question is absolutely fine. In fact, officials of an education department have defended the question saying it examines a student's critical awareness and ability to think independently, reports BBC.

The question received a varied number of answers from students as translated by South China Morning Post:

"The captain should be at least 18 years old because a minor is not allowed by law to operate a vessel," offered one student.

"The captain is 36 years old. He is quite narcissistic, so the number of animals corresponds to his age," suggested another.

"We cannot be sure of the captain's age. The number of the sheep and goats is irrelevant to the captain's age," concluded a third.

A Weibo user also offered this explanation for the question, reports BBC: "The total weight of 26 sheep and 10 goat is 7,700kg, based on the average weight of each animal. In China, if you're driving a ship that has more than 5,000kg of cargo you need to have possessed a boat license for five years. The minimum age for getting a boat's license is 23, so he's at least 28."

So can you solve this question without losing your marbles?

While this math problem has little to do with the subject, it has surely garnered a lot of attention. Something similar to when Donald Trump’s “Covfefe” made it to the ISI Kolkata question paper.

The second year students of the Master of Statistics programme at ISI Kolkata found a rather interesting question in their paper on Martingale Theory.

A question that read “Mr. Trump decides to post a random message on Facebook and he starts typing a random sequence of letters {Uk}k≥1 such that they are chosen independently and uniformly from the 26 possible english alphabets. Find out the expected time of the first appearance of the word COVFEFE.”

LOL. Today's exam at the Indian Statistical Institute. See Qn 5. pic.twitter.com/TrHHpyGCCP
— Grieve Chelwa (@gchelwa) December 1, 2017

Prev Next

MORE Interesting ARTICLES

New FDA Rules Will Put Calorie Counts On Menus, Supermarket Meals, Movie Popcorn

WASHINGTON — Whether they want to or not, consumers will soon know how many calories they are eating when ordering off the menu at chain restaurants, picking up prepared foods at supermarkets and even eating a tub of popcorn at the movie theatre.

New FDA Rules Will Put Calorie Counts On Menus, Supermarket Meals, Movie Popcorn

It's Fall, Boxelder Bugs Are Looking For A Winter Home

Batten down the hatches. It's that time of year when boxelder bugs are snooping around looking for a winter home. Your home and mine, that is.

It's Fall, Boxelder Bugs Are Looking For A Winter Home

Empty liquor bottles can reveal alcohol use

Can counting the empty liquor bottles in dustbins gauge drinking habits of people? Yes, say researchers, adding that this is an inexpensive, unobtrusive and relatively easy method....

Empty liquor bottles can reveal alcohol use

Take shower selfie challenge to fight AIDS

If you are done with the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, pull up your shirts for the HIV Shower Selfie Challenge....

Take shower selfie challenge to fight AIDS

Fake bombs don't make sniffer dogs smarter

Genuine explosive materials are traditionally used to train dogs to detect explosives and to test their performance later on....

Fake bombs don't make sniffer dogs smarter

Energy Board Hears Expanded BC Pipeline Threatens First Nations Food, Hunting

VICTORIA — A First Nations elder told a National Energy Board hearing that Kinder Morgan's proposed pipeline expansion threatens traditional hunting and food sources and the archeological sites of his people.