People left confused after mum shares impossible maths question for seven-year-olds

Now, for many of us - myself included - maths isn't our strong spot.

However, with that said, you'd think a bunch of full-grown adults would be able to figure out a maths question designed for seven-year-olds to be able to answer - right?

Well, it's clear that was far from the case after one mum shared a seemingly impossible maths equation to Reddit and has since left people well and truly baffled by it.

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Now, the question starts off with a previous equation reading 200 + 60 + 9 = 269 - easy enough eh?

Well, here's where it gets a little trickier.

The maths workbook then has a 'stretch your thinking' follow-up question which read: "Write an additional equation.

"The equation must have a 1-, a 2- and a 3-digit addend and use all of these digits."

The digits in question included; 6, 6, 2, 2, 8, 8, 0, 0 and 0.

The mum shared a snap of the question alongside some working out scribbles along with the title: "2nd grade math question that we can’t figure out."

She captioned the post: "The teacher asked for an answer as well that includes the numbers.

Reddit/@No_Personality1984

"I am so stuck!! This is probably so easy, but after an hour I’m at my wits end! Second grade!!!"

She pleaded: "Please help this mama out."

Hundreds upon hundreds have since rushed to the comments sections to share their thoughts on the question with one Reddit user writing: "Fasten your seatbelts... we're going from 'Are you smarter than a fifth grader?' to 'Are you smarter than a second grader?'"

A second hit out: "Ok but what the heck is this supposed to teach the kids? Guess and check?"

"Yeah, that is not something I would expect very many second graders to get. But then again, that is the 'Stretch your thinking' question for this worksheet," pointed out a third.

A fourth wondered: "How is this second grade math???" while a fifth explained: "The unnecessary hyphens after the 1 and 2 kinda makes the question confusing, especially for a child.

"I'm assuming your kid was taught what addends were before this homework was given? So they should have been able to at least explain that part considering that, from the comments, most people don't have a clue what those are."

Well, the answer to the allegedly impossible maths question is as simple as just recreating the previous answer.

Coming to the rescue to finally put an end to all the possible theories and outside-the-box takes on the primary school maths homework, a final Reddit user penned: "200 + 80 + 6 = 286."

Guess you really do learn something new everyday.

Topics: Parenting, Real Life, Social media, Reddit

Rhiannon Ingle

Rhiannon Ingle is a Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from the University of Manchester in 2021 in English Literature. Alongside her studies, she was the Lifestyle Editor of The Mancunian, the largest student newspaper in the United Kingdom. Her favourite topics to write about include sex and relationships, bizarre lifestyle trends and all things travel.