Are you smarter than a sixth-grader? Give this math word problem your best shot

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Rena Havner Philips, Press-Register


http://i.imgur.com/y5cUf.jpg

MOBILE, Alabama -- The keynote speaker at today's Education Summit challenged about 400 local educators and business leaders to answer a sixth-grade math question.

Can you answer it (without cheating and using Google)?


A class has 29 students. Twenty students have dogs; 15 have cats. How many have both dogs and cats?

Speaker Freeman Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, said he was pleased with the "nerdy" audience gathered at the summit, sponsored by the Mobile Area Education Foundation and held at the University of South Alabama's Mitchell Center.

Many people scribbled in notepads to try solve the problem and several raised their hands, volunteering to answer it.

But Hrabowski - who jokingly said he'd give $1,000 to anyone who could get it right but that anyone who got it wrong would instead owe him $100 - teased the audience by not giving the answer.

Give your answer below.

Hrabowski, a native of Birmingham, spoke as part of a day's worth of sessions focusing on improving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education locally.

[perrhaps]

There is no correct answer to this question as it is phrased.

[Arkady Renko]

between 6 and 15

[Muddy]

15 max?

[Muddy]

After doing it on paper Im with Meursault.

[MrsM]

I agree with 6<= Both Cats and Dogs <=15

[PorkChopSandwiches]

This question would have been multiple choice so you could see they were purposely trying to confuse you, which would make it easier to get the correct answer. Since there isnt just one correct number as the answer

[Acid Trip]

This question would have been multiple choice so you could see they were purposely trying to confuse you, which would make it easier to get the correct answer. Since there isnt just one correct number as the answer

A multiple choice Math test? I should have gone to that school...

[Hal-9000]

15

[Muddy]

So whats the friggin answer?

[PorkChopSandwiches]

A multiple choice Math test? I should have gone to that school...

I guess I was assuming it was some type of standardized tests that got scored through a computer....like a scantron or whatever.

[MrsM]

So whats the friggin answer?

Is that a retorical question or would you like to do the math?

(from Big Bang Theory)

[Teh One Who Knocks]

So whats the friggin answer?

This is:


There is no correct answer to this question as it is phrased.

[Acid Trip]

A range of numbers is a correct answer when details are missing. The answer of (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15) is correct.

[Muddy]

Yeah I was struggling on paper.. That's why I said a max of 15..

[Godfather]

At first I thought it was a punctuation thing that gives you the answer. :lol:

But there's no way you can answer that question with one number... all you can say is that at least 6 and at most 15 could have both.

[Hal-9000]

I have one lemur :face:

[Joebob034]

69

[perrhaps]

This is:

So, where's my prize?

[Acid Trip]

So, where's my prize?

Nothing because the answer is between 6 and 15.

Here is the Math behind the correct answer.

D - dogs only;
C - cats only;
B - both;
A - No pets

A + B + C + D = 29 (definition)
B + C = 15 (definition)
B + D = 20 (definition)
Therefore, A - B = -6 OR (rewritten)
B = 6 + A; Values of A may be no less than 0 and no greater than 9 (When C = 0, i.e. no cats only)

Therefore, 6 ≤ B ≤ 15

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Nothing because the answer is between 6 and 15.

Here is the Math behind the correct answer.

D - dogs only;
C - cats only;
B - both;
A - No pets

A + B + C + D = 29 (definition)
B + C = 15 (definition)
B + D = 20 (definition)
Therefore, A - B = -6 OR (rewritten)
B = 6 + A; Values of A may be no less than 0 and no greater than 9 (When C = 0, i.e. no cats only)

Therefore, 6 ≤ B ≤ 15

The question asked "how many" not "how many possibilities" or "what range", therefore, with the information supplied the question is unanswerable.

[Acid Trip]

The question asked "how many" not "how many possibilities" or "what range", therefore, with the information supplied the question is unanswerable.

:bs:

So the guy who asked the question is giving speeches on science, technology, engineering and math but decides to ask a question where the answer is based on his poor use of the English language?

Yeah, totally reasonable :roll:

[Teh One Who Knocks]

It's from a 6th grade math quiz :roll:

[perrhaps]

Ahem! So, where's my prize?

[Acid Trip]

It's from a 6th grade math quiz :roll:

And 6th graders don't know Algebra or ranges and are supposed to nitpick the teachers English on every question? No wonder kids these days are retarded.

[Godfather]

Hey Acid, how do you get an Elephant into a refrigerator? (no googling)

[Hal-9000]

Nothing because the answer is between 6 and 15.

Here is the Math behind the correct answer.

D - dogs only;
C - cats only;
B - both;
A - No pets

A + B + C + D = 29 (definition)
B + C = 15 (definition)
B + D = 20 (definition)
Therefore, A - B = -6 OR (rewritten)
B = 6 + A; Values of A may be no less than 0 and no greater than 9 (When C = 0, i.e. no cats only)

Therefore, 6 ≤ B ≤ 15



how do you make them cool less than signs with the little feet underneath? :-s

[MrsM]

how do you make them cool less than signs with the little feet underneath? :-s

≤ "& #8804;" but remove the space between the & and #

[Hal-9000]

≤

[Hal-9000]

:cheerlead:


thanks MrsM, it worked!




that's a lot of bs characters to create one symbol :lol:

[PorkChopSandwiches]

≤ copy and paste works for me

[PorkChopSandwiches]

:cheerlead:


thanks MrsM, it worked!




that's a lot of bs characters to create one symbol :lol:


Not from what I see

[Hal-9000]

I'll draw the damn thing in paint before I start learning code ffs :lol:

[Hal-9000]

look at me Ma, I'm a maths-metician :dance:


http://i39.tinypic.com/2e3zyo4.jpg

[Hal-9000]

guess I'm answering the thread question with each successive post :lol:



:doh:

[PorkChopSandwiches]

I cant make it do it either

[Goofy]

Hey Acid, how do you get an Elephant into a refrigerator? (no googling)

Open the door, put him in then close the door again :tup:

How do you get a giraffe into a refrigerator?

[Godfather]

Open the door, put him in then close the door again :tup:

How do you get a giraffe into a refrigerator?

Take out the elephant and put the giraffe in!



You're hosting a party and everyone in the world is invited. Who doesn't show up?

[Acid Trip]

Hey Acid, how do you get an Elephant into a refrigerator? (no googling)

That depends on how complicated you want the answer to be. Based on the ridiculousness of this "math" question I need more information.

First, it's pretty f'ing hard to get an elephant to do anything they don't want to do. That should disqualify the question. Two, is there an elephant sized refrigerator available? Three, is there anything in said elephant sized refrigerator that needs to be removed before the elephant goes in? Four, does the aforementioned refrigerator have a door on it that would have to be closed?

Answer those and I'll answer your question :mrgreen:

I've seen this before but I'll play along.

[Acid Trip]

Take out the elephant and put the giraffe in!



You're hosting a party and everyone in the world is invited. Who doesn't show up?

The giraffe cause he's in the refrigerator.

[Godfather]

:cheerlead:

[Hal-9000]

do we gotta pay for this? :|