Questions tagged [word-problem]

A word problem is an exercise with its main challenge being in translation from words to mathematical concepts and language including symbols and formulas. This tag is not about the unrelated topic in group theory.

Word problems have been posed since the earliest mathematics exercises.

Couching an application of mathematical reasoning in terms of everyday objects and activities, the genre of word problems has attracted considerable analysis for education theory over the decades.

It has also garnered a fair amount of parody.

1322 questions
1103
votes
32 answers

If it took 10 minutes to saw a board into 2 pieces, how long will it take to saw another into 3 pieces?

So this is supposed to be really simple, and it's taken from the following picture: Text-only: It took Marie $10$ minutes to saw a board into $2$ pieces. If she works just as fast, how long will it take for her to saw another board into $3$ pieces?…
yuritsuki
  • 10,521
326
votes
10 answers

V.I. Arnold says Russian students can't solve this problem, but American students can -- why?

In a book of word problems by V.I Arnold, the following appears: The hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle (in a standard American examination) is $10$ inches, the altitude dropped onto it is 6 inches. Find the area of the triangle. American school…
Eli Rose
  • 8,481
166
votes
19 answers

Is there another simpler method to solve this elementary school math problem?

I am teaching an elementary student. He has a homework as follows. There are $16$ students who use either bicycles or tricycles. The total number of wheels is $38$. Find the number of students using bicycles. I have $3$ solutions as follows. Using a…
kiss my armpit
  • 3,973
73
votes
9 answers

What is the most expensive item I could buy with £50?

I was set the following question during the discrete mathematics module of my degree and despite my instructor explaining his working to me I still disagree with the answer he says is correct. Can someone please help me either understand where my…
Sam
  • 788
29
votes
7 answers

What is the answer to this infamous "Common Core" question?

The following question (number 15 of this test ) has become infamous as a poor "Common Core" question. What is the correct answer? Juanita wants to give bags of stickers to her friends. She wants to give the same number of stickers to each friend.…
Eric M. Schmidt
  • 3,945
15
votes
6 answers

Sailors, monkey and coconuts

Five sailors and a monkey were shipwrecked on a deserted island, and they spent the first day gathering coconuts for food, piled them all up together and went to bed. But when they were all asleep one sailor woke up, and he thought that there might…
Adi Dani
  • 17,077
13
votes
2 answers

Probability - Interview Question - Hidden Assumptions and Phrasing Issues

I’ve encountered the following seemingly simple probability interview question in my workplace: Two reviewers were tasked with finding errors in a book. The first had found 40 errors and the other had found 60. 20 of the found errors were found in…
Yonatan Harari
  • 133
13
votes
3 answers

How many cows are there?

In a field, the grass increases in a constant rate. $17$ cows can eat all the grass in the field in $30$ days. $19$ cows can eat all the grass in $24$ days. Suppose, a group of cows started eating grass for $6$ days. Then $4$ cows are sold. The rest…
coderoid
  • 531
12
votes
2 answers

Train from Nagpur to Raipur

A train departs from Nagpur rail station every 1 hour. It takes exactly 5 hours to arrive to Raipur rail station. Another train departs from Raipur 30 minutes after the departure of the first Nagpur train and also every 1 hour. The Raipur trains are…
Pradeep Suny
  • 1,603
11
votes
6 answers

How long to catch up to a stream started 1 hour ago at 1.5x speed?

I opened a stream that started an hour ago. Not wanting to miss anything, I started from the beginning and set it to 1.5x speed. How long will it take for me to catch up? I know that it will take 40 minutes to watch the hour that I missed ( $ \frac…
Kevin Fee
  • 229
  • 2
  • 5
10
votes
5 answers

How long will it take two clocks to show the same time again?

2 clocks A and B are now showing 3'o clock. Clock B is 2 mins/hr faster than clock A. How long will it take them to show the same time again My solution: hour hand has speed 1/2 degree per minute so Clock B will run 1 degree faster then clock B ,…
rohit
  • 397
10
votes
3 answers

How long will it take the remaining cleaners to finish cleaning the school?

$12$ cleaners have to clean the school premises. They determined that they could complete the work in $15$ days. After $3$ days, three cleaners fall ill. How long will it take the remaining cleaners to finish cleaning the school? My attempt: I know…
gustav
  • 393
9
votes
3 answers

Time-and-Work and Motorcycle Tyres

A problem about motorcycle tyres, related to Time-and-Work or rate-of-work methods. This is not a homework question, nor, as far as I know, a contest question. It is intended as a challenge for Year 10/11 or 15/16-year olds, but should require no…
David Quinn
  • 35,330
8
votes
2 answers

Why does this method work some of the time (but only some?)

This question showed up in an exam for 11-year olds: Alice bought some chocolate and vanilla muffins. $\frac{3}{4}$ of her muffins are chocolate and the rest are vanilla. She then bought another 60 vanilla muffins. In the end, $\frac{1}{3}$ of her…
Allure
  • 872
8
votes
1 answer

Formula(s) for sharing multiple golden geese

Please have mercy on a simple, non-math person like me. I'm trying to find a formula (or even be told it's impossible) for a unique and difficult compound interest scenario pertaining to the Golden Goose. At least it's unique and difficult to me.…
LCIII
  • 181
1
2 3
…
88 89