# Deceptively easy math word problems for high school kids **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 2, 2012, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deceptively-easy-math-word-problems-for-high-school-kids/611563 "2012-02-02T19:31:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deceptively-easy-math-word-problems-for-high-school-kids/611563/21 "2012-02-03T03:29:54Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > OK, I guess I’m not getting this one. It’s two, right? Uh, I also assume it is two. Anyone care to explain this one? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deceptively-easy-math-word-problems-for-high-school-kids/611563/22 "2012-02-03T03:30:54Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Nope. It’s two. It’s just deceptively easy. People tend to overthink things, especially when doing tests. But that’s not the answer I got…? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deceptively-easy-math-word-problems-for-high-school-kids/611563/23 "2012-02-03T03:34:48Z")
Or did I overthink it? I guess it does say there is another bucket. I thought the problem was: You have a bucket that holds two gallons and a bucket that holds five gallons. How many buckets do you have? In which case, the answer is one. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deceptively-easy-math-word-problems-for-high-school-kids/611563/24 "2012-02-03T03:47:24Z")
That is overthinking it to the MAX! I love it! ETA: And you may be right. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deceptively-easy-math-word-problems-for-high-school-kids/611563/25 "2012-02-03T03:55:56Z")
A farmer builds a modern chicken coop consisting of several stories of caged birds. The building houses 80 hens and an ungiven number of roosters. You are aware that the number of roosters on any tier is equal to half the number of hens and that each floor contains the exact same number of hens. How many layers does the building have? ---
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deceptively-easy-math-word-problems-for-high-school-kids/611563/26 "2012-02-03T04:15:46Z")
> [@Lord\_Mondegreen](#): > > I presume you mean the wine costs $9.00 more than the bottle. Thank god, I was sitting there thinking what? How is the bottle 50c, you’ve just it is 9 bucks more than the wine. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deceptively-easy-math-word-problems-for-high-school-kids/611563/27 "2012-02-03T04:47:34Z")
You’re in a two lap race and each lap is one mile long. At the end of lap one you’ve averaged 30 mph. How fast do you have to go in lap 2 to average 60 mph? ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deceptively-easy-math-word-problems-for-high-school-kids/611563/28 "2012-02-03T05:06:22Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > You’re driving a bus with 10 passengers. At one stop, 2 people get off and 4 people get on. At the next stop, one person gets off and 5 get on. At the next stop, half of the passengers get off and no one gets on. How old is the bus driver? Too old for this shit. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deceptively-easy-math-word-problems-for-high-school-kids/611563/29 "2012-02-03T05:11:51Z")
Making kids feel stupid is such a great way to get them interested in math! Seriously, don’t overdo it. Fool them once, then openly explain some others. Teach them to think. ETA: And the answer to the bucket problem is any number not less than 1. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deceptively-easy-math-word-problems-for-high-school-kids/611563/30 "2012-02-03T05:30:09Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > Your new neighbor has two children. At least one of them is a girl. What are the odds the other one is a girl? > [@Shmendrik](#): > > I wouldn’t say this is a problem where the wording is misleading. It’s actually a counter-intuitive answer if you’re completely unfamiliar with statistics. Sure, the wording is misleading. It says “the other one”, where this is not a well defined term for families with two girls. I daresay, I consider it a mistake on the questioner’s part to use the term “the other one” (if I had said “Out of families with at least one girl, what proportion are such that the other one is older?”, the nonsense would be clear). Very few people would mistakenly answer the question “Out of two-children families with at least one girl, what proportion have two girls?”, or at least, very few would have any objection to the correct answer once explained. It’s the most basic of basic counting questions [there are four equally numerous kinds of two-children families, 3 of which have at least one girl, and 1 of which has two girls; thus, 1/3]. It’s simply that misleading wording leads people to suppose they are being asked something else most of the time this problem is (mis)posed (e.g., given that child A is a girl, what is the probability that child B is a girl?). ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deceptively-easy-math-word-problems-for-high-school-kids/611563/31 "2012-02-03T05:44:52Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > A farmer builds a modern chicken coop consisting of several stories of caged birds. The building houses 80 hens and an ungiven number of roosters. You are aware that the number of roosters on any tier is equal to half the number of hens and that each floor contains the exact same number of hens. How many layers does the building have? I don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deceptively-easy-math-word-problems-for-high-school-kids/611563/32 "2012-02-03T05:53:00Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > Sure, the wording is misleading. It says “the other one”, where this is not a well defined term for families with two girls. Not a parent, are you? Fucking with the little teenaged bastards evens out the amount of fucking with you that they do. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deceptively-easy-math-word-problems-for-high-school-kids/611563/33 "2012-02-03T06:05:04Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > I don’t get it. [Layer.](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/layer) ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deceptively-easy-math-word-problems-for-high-school-kids/611563/34 "2012-02-03T06:41:32Z")
> [@Shmendrik](#): > > [Layer.](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/layer) Which if the teenager speaks english makes the question rather nastily ambiguous ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deceptively-easy-math-word-problems-for-high-school-kids/611563/35 "2012-02-03T06:48:43Z")
Here’s one from a California school textbook that [stumped Richard Feynmann](http://www.textbookleague.org/103feyn.htm): > [@](#): > > “Red stars have a temperature of four thousand degrees, yellow stars have a temperature of five thousand degrees . . . [et cetera] … > John and his father go out to look at the stars. John sees two blue stars and a red star. His father sees a green star, a violet star, and two yellow stars. What is the total temperature of the stars seen by John and his father?” ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deceptively-easy-math-word-problems-for-high-school-kids/611563/36 "2012-02-03T07:25:08Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > You’re in a two lap race and each lap is one mile long. At the end of lap one you’ve averaged 30 mph. How fast do you have to go in lap 2 to average 60 mph? It is many years since I did maths, and I had to think about this for a little while, but is the answer:You can’t. You would have to complete the second lap instantaneously because the first one has already used up two minutes, which is all the time required to average 60mph. I.e. infinite speed or div/0 error. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deceptively-easy-math-word-problems-for-high-school-kids/611563/37 "2012-02-03T08:30:34Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Here’s one from a California school textbook that [stumped Richard Feynmann](http://www.textbookleague.org/103feyn.htm): The poser I can see with this one is that you start thinking the colour temperatures are in 1000-degree increments, but yellow is not the second colour in the rainbow, it is the third - orange has been left out, 500 degrees hotter than red. The rest of the answer is left as an exercise for the student. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deceptively-easy-math-word-problems-for-high-school-kids/611563/38 "2012-02-03T08:37:01Z")
The problem is that “total temperature” is not meaningful, as such; adding temperature in Fahrenheit gives a completely different result from adding temperature in Celsius, for example. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deceptively-easy-math-word-problems-for-high-school-kids/611563/39 "2012-02-03T08:57:50Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > The problem is that “total temperature” is not meaningful, as such; adding temperature in Fahrenheit gives a completely different result from adding temperature in Celsius, for example. I disagree; on the assumption that you’re using the same units throughout, “total temperature” is meaningful or else you could never work out “average temperature” – which is a concept I’m assuming you’re cool with. I think the trap is as per my previous post. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2012, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deceptively-easy-math-word-problems-for-high-school-kids/611563/40 "2012-02-03T09:05:26Z")
Two trains are 20 miles apart and heading towards each other on the same track, each traveling at 10 miles per hour. A bee starts at one of the trains, flies to the other train at 20 miles per hour, turns around, and continues going back and forth (again at 20 mph) until the trains collide and the bee is squashed. What is the total distance that the bee flies? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deceptively-easy-math-word-problems-for-high-school-kids/611563.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deceptively-easy-math-word-problems-for-high-school-kids/611563.md?page=3)