Can You Solve This 3rd Grade Math Problem That Is Stumping The Internet?

May 25, 2018

Have you ever thought about having to do homework again like you did every night when you were in school? Parents get to experience homework again through new eyes when they help their children with their nightly homework. Today's homework can be challenging and more confusing than it seemed when you were in school. But this math question for third graders is impossible to answer!

Eight year old Izzy was confused by a question on her math homework. Her mom, Dusty Sappington, was happy to help with the tricky questions. When mom read the question, she was more perplexed than her daughter!

The actual math question was about a girl who had fifteen items. She misplaced some of them. Now how many does she have?

There were no additional instructions or multiple choice answers for the question. Dusty assumed it was a mistake, and little Izzy was equally confused. The answer they decided on was just a big question mark!

This bizarre math question made Dusty chuckle, and for "amusement" she posted it on Reddit. She posted that her daughter would be finished with her homework if someone could answer this one question. In typical fashion, Reddit readers were quick to supply some super creative ideas for answers.

The Reddit commenters were not sure about the fairness of the question, mentioning that they didn't think it was a third-grade level question. They wondered about the teacher, and why he or she would use terms that are definitely above a third-grade level.

As always, some commenters took a comedic approach. One funny guy joked that this kind of question is kind of basic, and solved the problem with a silly equation that still baffles me.

One thing was for sure: the answer could not be an individual number. All other possibilities were fair game. Reddit commenters suggested that the answer couldn't be "some", as Janell must have certainly lost more than one of her marbles.

By far the funniest solution was that Janell lost her marbles. You can always count on Reddit users for a little comedy. I’m sure her teacher would chuckle if Izzy went to school with that answer! Everyone loves some comic relief.

In an interview with the Huffington post, Dusty admitted that she was anxious to see what grade Izzy received for her paper. She says that is not not sure if the teacher was trying to review "greater than" and "less than", which were subjects they had previously covered in math class.

Dusty laughs at the confusion. As the mother of two grade-school students, their family has laughed at plenty of homework problems. She says that they sometimes have to consult Google for the really absurd questions.

Dusty is a wonderful, supportive mom who cares about her daughter's future. It is really touching to see a mom who is always ready to help tackle tricky homework questions with her third grader.

What is your answer, did you solve the question? Did a typo or omission of a word ever create an impossible math question in your child's homework? Let us know! Send this article to your friends so they can try to solve it as well!