LOL. Its not that there are assumptions to be made, its really that there is no one expected understanding to be understood from it.
Q. "if three eggs cost $1, how much would 12 eggs cost ? ".
year 3 answer. $4
adults answer… FFS they are cheaper by the dozen. But the teacher expects the answer $4, and its the only answer you can accurately and methodically calculate so as to be able to match what the teacher expects.
I am saying that the year 3 has made the assumption that there is no economy of scale represented in the pricing. Its not a bad assumption, and the adult cannot provide any other one specific number for an answer anyway, and must therefore make the assumption.
We all make assumptions, its impossible not to… Lets (english word complete oxford dictionary 1995 meaning 5 ) hope (english, oxford dictionary 1995 meaning 3 ) you don’t provide dictionary references to every bloody word you write, so that the reader doesn’t have to assume the relevant dictionary and meaning entry to take it as… the key assumption in the OP’s was that the four bottlers were full to start with, and emptied … An assumption that the water wasn’t spilled is really an assumption the teacher isn’t a lateral thinker .
If the teacher wrote this question, he/she is an idiot?!? If published of book wrote the problem… they need better proof-readers! A whole lot more information is needed to even start coming up with an answer. To start with… “4 water bottle”… how big/capacity? “3 cups”… as in 8 ounce measures, or whatever the metric equivalent would be, or coffee/tea cups, or maybe even mugs??
The measured capacity of the vessels is irrelevant (and just an extra point of confusion). All you need to know is that the four bottles can be completely distributed among the 3 cups. Whether the 3 “cups” are giant 5-liter buckets, or the cups are sized exactly to fit those 4 bottles of water among three of them, to evenly distribute four bottles of water among them, each bucket will have 4/3 bottle of water in it.
^ But to be sure, it does need to be clearly stated that the four bottles are completely and evenly distributed among the three cups. (This is not explicitly stated in the original question.) That said, there are better scenarios already mentioned in this thread for a question that is testing for the understanding of fractions.
You got in before my late addition. The OP’s question, as written, does not include this information. I wasn’t saying the OP’s question states this. I was saying that crafter’s statement about the question requiring the size/capacity of bottles and the size of the cups in Imperial units or their metric equivalents is unnecessary, and all that is needed is the fact you quoted. If they simply were pointing out relative capacities, then that’s fine, and I misunderstood, but I got the sense that they were saying measured capacities for the bottles and cups were required to solve a problem of this nature.
Actually, come to think of it, that’s not enough, either. We also have to know that we want the same amount in each cup, and that each cup is big enough to hold that amount. Otherwise, we could have one cup that’s twice the size of a bottle, and two that are each the same size as a bottle.
And, for that matter, we also need to know that the bottles all hold the same amount.
Now, it’s possible to convey all the necessary information without bringing in specific units, but it’s a lot easier, and makes for a much cleaner problem, with units.
I meant to write “completely and evenly distributed among the three cups.” It doesn’t even matter if the cups are the same sizes so long as they fit at least 4/3 of the bottle to satisfy the “completely and evenly” condition. I suppose that means that we should, at least, say that the bottles are all the same size, though.
I reference the word “evenly” later in the explanation: “Whether the 3 “cups” are giant 5-liter buckets, or the cups are sized exactly to fit those 4 bottles of water among three of them, to evenly distribute four bottles of water among them, each bucket will have 4/3 bottle of water in it.”
I personally don’t like the units, but I get where you’re saying that it’s becoming a little unwieldy, which is why I prefer some different version of this question (not with water bottles and cups, but something else) where the only numbers used are 4 and 3 to make it clear to the student what numbers are important in the question and in testing their understanding of fractions.
I come from “back in the day,” and no, I wasn’t in a “secret club” as you were. I didn’t take the “right classes to boost the GPA,” as you did, and did not receive the “straight A’s” as you.
I tested very well when necessary, and merely received passing term grades as a result. Chem lectures for me proved to be more interesting than the simple and redundant labs…
The “fellowship” you and I share appears to be very limited.