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

Indian-American Student Pranay Varada Wins National Geographic Bee Contest

Pranay Varada, the 14-year-old Indian-American student, has won the prestigious USD 50,000 National Geographic Bee competition

Indian-American Student Pranay Varada Wins National Geographic Bee Contest

Of Patiala Pegs And American Whiskey: Cocktails To Savour

Fresh ginger juice mixed with lime juice, orgeat syrup, pineapple juice and Tennessee whiskey, shaken well with lots of crushed ice and what you have in hand is a great "Ginger Baker" drink served in a martini glass.

Of Patiala Pegs And American Whiskey: Cocktails To Savour

MasterChef 2017: Pakistani-Kashmiri Recipes Win MasterChef For Saliha Ahmed

Trolls targeted the doctor’s Pakistini heritage and fusion cooking style

MasterChef 2017: Pakistani-Kashmiri Recipes Win MasterChef For Saliha Ahmed

Chandigarh's Once-Beautiful Sukhna Lake Goes Dry, Shrunk by 57%

In just under six decades, the area under water of the scenic lake, which has the Kasauli Hills and lower Himalayas in the backdrop, has shrunk by nearly 57 per cent.

Chandigarh's Once-Beautiful Sukhna Lake Goes Dry, Shrunk by 57%

Why Steve Jobs Didn't Let His Kids Use iPads And Other Digital Dangers

Brimming with wit and insight, this book is required reading for all, especially the section described in it -- provided they can abandon their digital preoccupations that long.