Schoolgirl’s hilarious response to bad maths question earns praise

A primary school student has been applauded online after spotting a glaring mistake in her maths homework and answering it brilliantly.

A young school girl has left the internet in stitches with her no-nonsense answer to a mathematics homework question that contained an error after a photo of her answer was shared online.

The primary school student, known only as Myrah, was set a series of maths problems when she spotted a glaring mistake in the quiz.

While she breezed question one (and the rest of them for that matter) she hit a roadblock with question two.

It read: “Jane has 12 crayons and Kim has 7 crayons. How many more crayons does Susan have than Kim?”

You’d forgive any young kid for struggling to understand the question, but not Myrah who wrote: “Who is Susan?”

She went on to correctly answer questions three, four, five and six – but her brilliantly sassy response was later shared on Reddit where it has gained a lot of love.

“Myrah is f***ing going places,” one wrote.

“This little girl is going to grow up to be one heck of a woman,” another said.

A young girl's brilliant response to a maths question with a glaring error has lit up the internet. Picture: Reddit

Some suggested it was a “trick question” to ensure the kids can read words as much as numbers while a teacher responded saying it was entirely possible the question was written by a very “tired and stressed” indvidual.

“Teachers make mistakes just like everyone else,” the commenter reasoned.

Others spotted questionable phrasing in the other questions too.

“Also #1. How do we know those 2 branches are part of the same tree?” one said.

“I’ve got a problem with #3 too. Even if fish swim away in a pond... they’re still in the pond,” another added.

Last week a mum went viral after turning to Facebook for help answering her 6-year-old daughter’s maths question.

Despite the homework being aimed at kids in year one, the mum was left scratching her head over a question about starfishes.

She shared a snap of the schoolwork to Facebook group Family Lockdown Tips and Ideas, where it sparked a fierce debate.

The mum said: “Assistance needed please. I’m thinking this is a trick question.

“How do I explain this to a 6 year old. Thanks.”

She shared the question which was baffling her, which read: “In three tanks, the least amount of starfish is 4.

“The most amount of starfish is 18.

“How many could there be in the middle tank?

“Show two possible answers.”

The question appears to be testing children’s concept of ‘least’ and ‘most’, and in theory any two numbers between four and 18 could be the answer.

But the deceptively simple answer also left others equally puzzled.

RELATED: Year 12 maths question no one could answer

A baffled mum has asked internet for help with 6-year-old daughter’s maths question. Picture: Facebook/FamilyLockdownTipsandIdeas

Commenting on the post, one person advised, “Get a ruler – show 4 and 18 and pick two numbers in between.”

Another asked: “It’s just any amount greater than four or less than 18 surely?”

A third joked: “Thanks for that brain pain I’m baffled.”

Someone else wrote: “It could be any numbers between 4 and 18.”

While this mum fumed: “Crikey why can’t maths be simple?! +-x and divide.”

And another suggested: “A number line would be really helpful.

“Start with do they understand least and most and in between.

“Get pasta out and have a least and most pot – most six year olds need to see it. Good luck.”

After getting help with the homework, the mum thanked everyone who gave their advice.

She added: “Thanks everyone for your comments it has helped. Much appreciated.”

Continue the conversation @RebekahScanlan | [e-mail]

Originally published as Schoolgirl’s hilarious response to bad maths question earns praise