Seven year old’s ‘easy’ maths homework question baffles adults

A mum has expressed her exasperation after her child returned from school with a maths problem so baffling she believes it’s impossible to solve.

Does anyone else feel like children’s homework is becoming increasingly challenging? It seems you need a degree in mathematics and a master’s in rocket science to tackle it. One parent caused chaos after posting a picture of her daughter’s maths homework on social media, leaving many others puzzled over the solution.

Initially shared on the Facebook group, Breastfeeding Mama Talk, Angie Werner revealed that her daughter Ayla’s latest maths puzzle was causing her difficulties. She posted: “OK, we’re all stumped, this is my second-grader’s homework – HELP!”

The mathematical riddle reads: “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?”

Most recently, the image of the problem was shared on Threads where people hastily assumed the answer was 36. One user commented: “I’m no mathematician but this seems pretty easy to me. It’s 36, right?”

Another person, who was overly confident, incorrectly asserted: “It says “there are 49 dogs signed up to compete” right at the start!!!! So the answer is 49. Looking at the responses, if y’all are actually teachers answering this with anything other than 49, it’s no wonder the education system is going down the pan!!!!”

Other responses included the number 13, but this too was incorrect. Can you crack the puzzle?

Remarkably, some brainy individuals did work it out and even explained how they did it. One individual detailed their method: “Let the no. Of large dogs be x. No. Of small dogs = x+36, x+x+36 = 49, 2x=13, X=6.5. Therefore, No. Of large dogs =6.5, No. Of small dogs =42.5. Which is not really possible. So, the question needs to be fixed.”

Angie, who had sparked the discussion, returned with a solution confirming that the correct answer was in fact 42.5 (taking into account a baffling half-a-dog at this hypothetical event). This was deduced by the sequence: 49-36=13; indeed 13/2=6.5; which leads to 36+6.5=42.5.

It emerged later that the initial problem was framed incorrectly, yet concluded, “The answer would be 42.5, though, if done at an age-appropriate grade.”