Math puzzle for eight-year-olds stumps adults - but can you solve it?
A simple math problem made for eight-year-old children has left adults scratching their heads.
A parent took to Reddit to share an image of a child's homework, explaining they were struggling to understand how to work out the answer.
The poster wrote: 'Husband and I feel super stupid and are coming up with different answers. Help?'
The question read: 'Sean makes two pizzas. He gives eight people an equal share of the pizza. How much pizza does each person get?'
Over 700 people tried to answer the seemingly simple question, but found they too had two different answers - 1/8 and 1/4.
Meanwhile, others slammed the question for being 'grammatically incorrect' and unnecessarily confusing.
One wrote: 'Why are y'all saying 2/8 Sure if there was like 1 pizza between the 8. There are 16 slices there. Everybody gets 2 slices if 16/8. Wouldn't that be 2/16 than 1/8?
'What's up guys how is 2 pizzas divided by 8 [people] 2/8? That would mean 4/16 and that would be 4 [people] each having 4 slices.'
Another said: 'I'm irrationally annoyed that the problem statement says how much pizza vs how much of a pizza because you have to infer that the unit is a single pizza.
'Why are children's questions written with such vague wording? 1/8 of the total pizza - 1/4 of a single pizza.'
A third penned: 'This question is stupid too because each person could have 30 slices if you cut small enough. But I guess no matter what it'd still be 1/4th.'
A fourth commented: 'Grammar police here: I suspect part of the issue is in the lack of an 's' on the second "pizza" in the question.
'The numbers involved imply 2/8 while the grammar implies 1/8 '8 people [get] an equal share of the pizza (just one).' 2/2 can't be the answer, however, with the question being unclear to begin with, it is fair to acknowledge confusion from anyone.'
Technically the correct answer is 1/4 - if we assume that two pizzas are going to be split rather than one. It can be worked out like this:
2 divided by 8 = 0.25 which as a fraction is 1/4.
But it also tripped up some adults who were confused about whether to divide the sum by nine instead of eight.
One wrote: 'Wouldn't there be 9 if Sean is getting some, too? That's what would trip me out. Talks about him giving away pizza, but then it asks how much each person gets (does that include Sean)?'
However, someone replied: 'The question says he gives it to 8 people. It never says he eats some too.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wales Online
an hour ago
- Wales Online
‘From the first day we moved in our neighbour parks across our drive and gets annoyed when we ask him to move'
'From the first day we moved in our neighbour parks across our drive and gets annoyed when we ask him to move' The homeowner asked for help in solving the problem saying he's tried parking there but if he pops out for '5 minutes' the van's back The van constantly parks at the end of the drive, blocking the homeowner in, he complained (Image: Reddit ) A homeowner has spoken of how a neighbour constantly parks his fan at the end of his drive - and gets annoyed when asked to move it. In a post asking for help, the person wondered if there was anything he could do about it - apart from parking his own car there. Taking to Reddit they said: 'The first day we moved in, he was parked in our drive, we kindly asked him to move and thought that would be that. However since then, he often parks in front of the drive and on the pavement restricting our access. 'I've spoken to him several times in addition to his girlfriend/wife, he seemed annoyed at being asked and continues to do so. I've taken to parking my car on the road, however having popped out for 5 minutes just now he's come back and blocked me again. There's ample room for him to move back. 'I've reported to Birmingham council 100's of times but obviously they've done nothing. I own my home but believe them to be renting. Should I contact their estate agent? Landlord? Or any other thing I could do to get them to stop blocking my access?' Users came back with suggestions - including waking them up early. One user said: 'Wake him up at 3am because you need to go & get bread.' This prompted the reply: 'This is absolutely the way. We used to live in a house that had a garage block, and most of the neighbours were rentals. Everytime new people moved in they would block me in. I used to leave home at 5:30 to go to the gym. It only ever needed one early morning wake up call for them to get the message.' Another added: 'This works, can confirm. Got home at about 04:00 to find neighbour blocking my drive, had a trailer so could not park elsewhere. Leaned on his doorbell and woke the whole house, never did again.' Article continues below One Reddit user asked: 'You contacted the police? This might count as antisocial behavior if its a constant issue.' In terms of the law the Ask the Police Website, which is created by the Police National Legal Database), a national organisation managed by West Yorkshire Police, said the person could be breaking the law - if the local council has adopted the Civil Parking Enforcement ruiles. It said: "If the vehicle is blocking access to your driveway you should first make enquiries with the neighbours to see if they know who the car belongs to, so they can move it. In most areas local councils have now taken on responsibility for enforcing parking provisions under what is known as Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE). Under CPE, it's an offence to park a vehicle that blocks a dropped kerb driveway. You can check if your local council has taken on CPE via the link below: - CPE List "If your council has taken on CPE, you will usually need to report vehicles that are obstructing a dropped kerb directly to them – you can contact them via the link below: - Find your local council Article continues below "If your local council hasn't taken on CPE, you will need to contact your local police force. The police/council policy for dealing with such matters may vary between forces/councils. Some police forces may only attend if your car has been blocked in and you cannot get out."
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Pilot reveals what would really happen if the emergency exit door gets opened mid-flight
While the scenario of an emergency exit door being yanked open mid-flight is a major fear for nervous flyers, one pilot has revealed exactly what happens when it occurs. Emergency exits are strategically placed throughout the aircraft to enable quick and efficient evacuation for all passengers, regardless of their seating location. While it's rare, there have been instances in recent years of passengers - or even flight attendants - opening emergency doors on airplanes on the ground or in mid-air. But American Airlines First Officer, Steve Scheibner, long-haul pilot, Pascal Cooney, and former airline pilot and aviation expert, Dan Bubb, have revealed the truth about what happens once the 'forbidden' door handle is turned at 35,000 feet. According to Bubb, when an emergency exit door is opened while the plane is stationed on the group and unpressurised, it will result in the door opening and an inflatable slide deploying. This is what happened in the infamous JetBlue Steven Slater incident in 2010, where the flight attendant quit his job in style and used the emergency exit to activate the slide and depart the plane following a confrontation with a passenger. Plug-type emergency exits on aircraft are designed to fit snugly into the door frame, creating a seal that is strengthened by the pressure difference between the interior and exterior of the aircraft. These doors are equipped with hardware like vertical rod and rim exit devices to ensure they stay securely closed under pressure. But if the plane is on the ground and accelerates up to a speed of 80 knots - equivalent to roughly 92 miles per hour - a mechanism on the doors locks, meaning they cannot be opened. Once the plane is in the air, it's virtually impossible to open an emergency door mid-flight due to the cabin's pressurisation. The pressure inside the cabin is significantly higher than the pressure outside at cruising altitude, creating a force that keeps the doors securely sealed. This pressure differential makes it physically impossible for a human to overcome the force holding the door closed. As reported by Reader's Digest, Steve Scheibner explained, 'Once this door gets pressurised in flight, it's nine pounds per square inch.' Fellow long-haul pilot, Pascal Cooney, who goes by @pascalklr on YouTube, said in a clip: 'We pressurise our aircraft to a lower altitude so that you guys can breathe. The inside pressure pushes the door in its frame.' While it's physically near-impossible to open emergency doors in the air, there have been documented cases of passengers hijacking planes and even jumping out of exits mid-flight. In 1972, a man named D.B. Cooper hijacked Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305, demanding four parachutes and $200,000 (£146,070) in ransom. After the plane landed in Seattle, he released the passengers and crew, refueled, and then, while flying towards Mexico, he parachuted out of the plane with the ransom money. Cooper was never found nor seen of again. Many passengers have also attempted to open doors mid-flight and whilst on the runway. A manic passenger was wrestled into a seat after trying to open the emergency exit mid-flight and threatening to kill all onboard a All Nippon Airways plane in May. In April, a flight headed to Melbourne was forced to turn around after a woman tried to open the aircraft door at 30,000 ft as the plane flew over the Indian Ocean. Budget airline JetStar said in a statement that flight JQ-34 had to return to Denpasar airport in Bali after a 'disruptive passenger' attempted to force the plane door open mid-air. In most cases, opening an emergency door mid-flight would lead to arrest, with specific charges and potential prison sentences depending on various factors, such as whether anyone was harmed or damage had been caused to the aircraft. Steven Slater, for example, escaped a prison sentence of seven years after being charged with a string of offences - including reckless endangerment and criminal mischief. However, the former JetBlue flight attendant was made to pay his old airline employer $10,000 (£7,303) in restitution to make up for some of the cost of his spectacular exit. In April, AirAsia X passenger, Shadi Taiseer Alsaaydeh, was charged with two counts of endangering the safety of an aircraft, as well as one count of assaulting crew members, when he attempted to open the plane's emergency doors several times. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years behind bars. He was restrained by crew members and passengers with one worker allegedly assaulted in the process.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
US city declares 12-year-old boy a hero for saving his family from house fire
A city in Virginia has awarded a hero's proclamation to a 12-year-old boy who rescued his grandmother and two younger siblings from a fire that burned their house down recently. The courage that Ramir Parker demonstrated when confronted with the blaze 'is a shining example of resilience, responsibility and the power of instinctive leadership in our youth', said the proclamation that officials in Petersburg gave to the local seventh-grade student. Ramir's story gained attention among corners of the internet dedicated to spotlighting positive news. As he put it in an interview with the Virginia news station WTVR, Ramir heard a strange noise in his family's home on 3 June, went downstairs and realized there was 'black smoke all throughout the house'. Ramir ran directly to a couch where his brothers – aged one and two – were sleeping on opposite ends and 'picked both of them up' as the fire that had broken out quickly spread, he recalled to WTVR. 'I fitted them inside my arms and … ran outside the house,' Ramir added. Not everyone was out of danger yet, however. The boy knew his grandmother was still in the home at that point. So he ran back inside, navigated the thick smoke to find his grandmother, and helped lead her to safety as the fire raged. By the time local firefighters arrived, which was within four minutes of being called, Ramir had already gotten everybody out of the house, Petersburg fire chief Wayne Hoover told WTVR. 'The bottom line – he saved his family's life,' Hoover said of the boy. An investigation later determined a downstairs electrical problem ignited the fire. Images published online showed how the blaze – which investigators determined was accidental – had destroyed Ramir's family's home. Subsequently, at a local government meeting on 17 June, Petersburg's mayor, Samuel Parham, gave Ramir a proclamation declaring him a municipal hero because of how 'critical' his 'swift response was in preserving life and minimizing harm'. A statement from the city's government noted that those who were at the meeting gave the boy a standing ovation for what the proclamation described as 'a level of bravery and presence of mind well beyond his years'. The proclamation offered 'deepest gratitude and admiration for his bravery and selfless actions in the face of danger'. 'The city … recognizes Ramir Parker in celebration of his remarkable heroism and in acknowledgment of the inspiration he provides to our entire community,' the proclamation also said. Hoover, meanwhile, told WTVR that Ramir had a job waiting for him at the Petersburg fire department as soon as the boy turns 18 and legally becomes an adult. Petersburg has about 33,500 residents and is about 20 miles (32km) south of Virginia's capital, Richmond. The station asked Ramir about risking it all before first responders' arrival to save his siblings and grandmother. 'It's my little brothers – I don't care,' Ramir said. ''Cause the only thing that matters is I got my little brothers out of the house – and my grandma.'
