This 10-year-old’s math question looks easy at first but even adults are having a hard time solving it

There is a popular debate going on on the internet, a debate about the practical applications of mind-boggling math puzzles that children are taught in schools. The difficulty level of sums often intimidates not just young children but also adults. Anna Botting (@annabotting), a Sky News presenter, and mother, was left “stumped” by one problem from her 10-year-old daughter’s maths homework. She took to X to share the baffling math problem with her followers and ranted about former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s education plans for students. Most of the internet users who commented on the post were not able to get it right. 

Botting began with her disagreement about the politician’s plans to make maths compulsory for children until the age of 18. She highlighted that many people struggle with the subject even as adults and the math imposition on youngsters might not be fair to everyone. At the heart of this was her tween daughter’s homework, an algebraic sum that was too convoluted to be even solved by adults, let alone 10-year-old children probably in Grade 5 or 6. 

“So maths to 18 for schoolchildren is Rishi Sunak’s plan. But, genuinely, maths is hard for some of us…This is my 10-year-old daughter’s maths homework, had me stumped,” Botting wrote in the X post shared in January 2023. The question asked, “At the beginning of the day, Hasim counted his money. He gave his brother 1/3 of his money. He spent £12 on a present for his sister. He then counted what he had left, and it was half what he had at the beginning of the day. How much money did he give his brother? Show your method." While Botting could not solve it, she hoped somebody in the comments would but was surprised that the sum posed a challenge for many others. 

The post went viral, attracting over 1.2 million views and several comments ranging from failed attempts at solving to a mix of reactions about increasingly difficult math schoolwork. “I think it's 72. A 16-year-old should be able to do that - don't know about a 10-year-old,” wrote one person (@PornPanic) while another (@AnthonyJLewis) quipped, “The correct answer is ‘How should I know? I'm only 10! I should be running around the playground pretending to be a helicopter!'” A third netizen (@jamg3916) claiming to be a teacher shared a thoughtful insight. It read, “As a teacher, I can't honestly see the point of these highly convoluted maths problems, they just heighten anxiety, feelings of frustration and failure, and let's be honest are no practical use whatsoever.” 

Many even opined that studying maths until 18 will not make any difference but “critical thinking skills” shall go a long way. “Maybe if they actually taught stuff of relevance in maths then kids might start to enjoy it more and actually improve because right now a lot of what they teach is of no use to them in the real world,” someone else (@mackyd78) chimed. It is worth noting that most people presumably adults solved the sum incorrectly. The popular answer was 72. In a follow-up post, Botting revealed the correct answer as 24, with a graph diagram solution provided by her daughter’s school teacher. “Thanks to all those who’ve attempted this! Answer time…kindly jotted down by the daughter’s teacher in the classroom: To all who said 24. And 72 - read the Q,” she said. 

However, some people spoke in support of maths and science as key factors to drive success and growth. They took examples of Asia, the US, and Canada pushing on these analytical subjects, which are highly linked to a country’s economic growth. In April 2023, former PM Sunak encouraged the public to change their “anti-maths mindset” to boost growth and introduced a new plan to ensure that every young person studies maths until officially an adult at 18, according to GOV.UK.