# Pizza question: which answer is right? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 30, 2017, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-question-which-answer-is-right/787700 "2017-05-30T03:50:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-question-which-answer-is-right/787700/1 "2017-05-30T03:50:10Z")
This question was included in a test: > [@](#): > > Reasonableness: Marty ate 4/6 of his pizza and Luis ate 5/6 of his pizza. Marty ate more pizza than Luis. How is that possible? The student responded: > [@](#): > > Marty’s pizza is bigger than Luis’s pizza. The teacher said that answer was incorrect: > [@](#): > > That is not possible because 5/6 is greater than 4/6 so Luis ate more. So apparently the correct answer was supposed to be that the situation described was not possible because it isn’t reasonable for 4/6 to be bigger than 5/6. Therefore even though the student’s answer was technically true, it wasn’t the reasonable answer the test was seeking. Which answer do you think was the right one? [A Kid’s Answer To A Math Question Was Marked Wrong But It’s The World That’s Wrong](http://www.distractify.com/geek/2016/03/29/pizza-math-question) ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-question-which-answer-is-right/787700/2 "2017-05-30T03:55:55Z")
Yeah the teacher was technically right, but by all reasonable fairness, wrong. The question was the math equivalent of _“When did you stop beating your wife?”_ It pushed a false premise onto the student, then blamed the student. I side with the student. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-question-which-answer-is-right/787700/3 "2017-05-30T03:56:36Z")
Are the pizzas poisoned with pineapple? ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-question-which-answer-is-right/787700/4 "2017-05-30T03:59:12Z")
The kid was right. He/she can reason. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-question-which-answer-is-right/787700/5 "2017-05-30T04:07:24Z")
The kid was right. The teacher’s thinking was stuck inside the box. “Pizza” is not an established amount; it could mean anything. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-question-which-answer-is-right/787700/6 "2017-05-30T04:07:47Z")
Teacher made a mistake when designing the test. Student’s answer pointed out the mistake (either in good faith or by being a smartass). Teacher punished the student for pointing out the mistake. The question does ask how it’s possible. The student’s answer explains how it’s possible. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-question-which-answer-is-right/787700/7 "2017-05-30T04:08:07Z")
I think it depends on how the kids are taught to evaluate questions. Are you supposed to look for a positive answer or is a negative one to be expected from time to time? I think the phrasing of the question should have been more along the lines of: “is this possible?” which allows for a yes or no answer. “How is this possible?” implies, to me, that there is a way that it is possible. mc ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-question-which-answer-is-right/787700/8 "2017-05-30T04:09:30Z")
I voted frt the teacher, but now I feel they both are correct. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-question-which-answer-is-right/787700/9 "2017-05-30T04:21:07Z")
The premise: “Marty ate 4/6 of his pizza and Luis ate 5/6 of his pizza.” Nowhere does it state that their pizzas must be the same size. The question asked was “\*\*\*How \*\*\*is that possible?” The student responded with the only possible correct answer to the question that was asked, based on the premise. The student is correct, and the teacher is a dunce. ---
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-question-which-answer-is-right/787700/10 "2017-05-30T04:22:12Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Yeah the teacher was technically right, but by all reasonable fairness, wrong. The question was the math equivalent of _“When did you stop beating your wife?”_ It pushed a false premise onto the student, then blamed the student. I side with the student. I don’t see how the teacher is technically right. The question started off by stating the following: 1. Marty ate 4/6 of his pizza; 2. Luis ate 5/6 of his pizza; and 3. Marty ate more pizza than Luis. It then asks how this is possible. The only possible answer to that question, as worded, would be that Marty’s pizza was larger than Luis’ pizza. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-question-which-answer-is-right/787700/11 "2017-05-30T04:48:52Z")
I side with the student, but I’m confused: What answer was the teacher going for? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-question-which-answer-is-right/787700/12 "2017-05-30T04:54:46Z")
All I know is I always make them cut my pizza into six slices, because I can’t eat eight. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-question-which-answer-is-right/787700/13 "2017-05-30T05:03:15Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > All I know is I always make them cut my pizza into six slices, because I can’t eat eight. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-question-which-answer-is-right/787700/14 "2017-05-30T05:03:52Z")
> [@Mudshark](#): > > I voted frt the teacher, but now I feel they both are correct. That’s how I voted. I’d really like to see the rest of the test to see how the other questions were worded. If the test was about taking a bunch of facts and reaching an obvious conclusion then the students weren’t supposed to come up with trick answers. To give a hypothetical example, suppose this had been a question: _Joe and Mary traveled from their home to their school, which is two miles away from their home. Joe walked and Mary rode the bus. Joe got to school first. Is that possible?_ Now obviously it’s possible to figure out some way in which Joe was able to walk faster than Mary rode. But the students are being asked to apply their knowledge of the relative speeds of bus travel versus walking to a specific situation. The purpose of this test is to take the facts you know and learn how to apply them in the real world. ---
**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:** [May 30, 2017, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-question-which-answer-is-right/787700/15 "2017-05-30T05:07:50Z")
> [@CoastalMaineiac](#): > > I don’t see how the teacher is technically right. The question started off by stating the following: > > 1. Marty ate 4/6 of his pizza; > 2. Luis ate 5/6 of his pizza; and > 3. Marty ate more pizza than Luis. > > It then asks how this is possible. The only possible answer to that question, as worded, would be that Marty’s pizza was larger than Luis’ pizza. Marty could also have eaten some of someone else’s pizza. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-question-which-answer-is-right/787700/16 "2017-05-30T05:09:26Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > So apparently the correct answer was supposed to be that the situation described was not possible because it isn’t reasonable for 4/6 to be bigger than 5/6. Therefore even though the student’s answer was technically true, it wasn’t the reasonable answer the test was seeking. What planet was this on? Here on Earth, it’s quite reasonable for pizzas to be available in different sizes, and for 4/6 of 12" pizza to be bigger than 5/6 of a 6" pizza. The kid’s answer wasn’t just “technically” true, it was perfectly true and perfectly reasonable. What’s not reasonable is expecting test-takers to assume the pizzas were of identical size when that was not stated, and is known by virtually anyone over 4 years old to not necessarily be the case. It’s also not particularly reasonable to make plausible statements of fact as part of the question and expect the testees to declare them false. ETA: That teacher is an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-question-which-answer-is-right/787700/17 "2017-05-30T05:10:04Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > I side with the student, but I’m confused: What answer was the teacher going for? The teacher wanted the kid to fight the hypothetical. If the hypothetical states: 1. Marty ate 4/6 of his pizza; 2. Luis ate 5/6 of his pizza; and 3. Marty ate more pizza than Luis. The answer the teacher was going for is that this is not possible since 5/6 is greater than 4/6. The kid’s answer hinges on the fact that there is no specification that both were eating pizzas that were of the same size when whole. So if Marty ate 4/6 of a 12in diameter pizza then he ate more square inches of pizza (~75.36in[sup]2[/sup]) than Luis had if Luis ate 5/6 of an 10in diameter pizza (~65.42in[sup]2[/sup]). ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-question-which-answer-is-right/787700/18 "2017-05-30T05:10:08Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > _Joe and Mary traveled from their home to their school, which is two miles away from their home. Joe walked and Mary rode the bus. Joe got to school first. Is that possible?_ Yes, maybe Mary’s bus was armed with a bomb that will explode if it drops below 50 miles per hour and had to take a 2-hour long action-packed ride through the city until a courageous police officer saved the passengers. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-question-which-answer-is-right/787700/19 "2017-05-30T05:36:22Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > _Joe and Mary traveled from their home to their school, which is two miles away from their home. Joe walked and Mary rode the bus. Joe got to school first. Is that possible?_ Sure. Joe took a short cut on a path the bus couldn’t use, and although they both left home at the same time Mary had to wait 30 minutes for the bus to come while Joe started moving towards the school right away. > [@](#): > > But the students are being asked to apply their knowledge of the relative speeds of bus travel versus walking to a specific situation. Says who? > [@](#): > > The purpose of this test is to take the facts you know and learn how to apply them in the real world. It strikes me as a piss-poor way to do it. How does anyone know what facts are known by the testee? Why is someone smart enough to realize that the relative speeds are not the ONLY factors here penalized for seeing the big picture while someone who makes unsupported assumptions is rewarded? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-question-which-answer-is-right/787700/20 "2017-05-30T05:47:25Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > The premise: “Marty ate 4/6 of his pizza and Luis ate 5/6 of his pizza.” > Nowhere does it state that their pizzas must be the same size. > > The question asked was “\*\*\*How \*\*\*is that possible?” The student responded with the only possible correct answer to the question that was asked, based on the premise. The student is correct, and the teacher is a dunce. Indeed. I assume a good portion of us answered immediately with that answer. The teacher’s answer is just plain dumb for this question. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizza-question-which-answer-is-right/787700.md?page=2)