Hardest Maths Question Ever

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Well, This is the hardest maths question I ever came across anyone who gets it right is a damn genious

A class has less than 30 students
Exactly 3/4 of them own footballs
Exactly 7/8 of them own football boots.

i)How many students are there in the class?
ii)How many students own both football boots and footballs?

i) 24 or 16 or 8

For ii) there is not enough information. Take the case when there are 8 people in the class. Now 6 pupils own footballs and 7 own boots. Now there could be 5 pupils that own footballs and boots, 2 that own boots an no ball, and 1 that owns a ball and no boots. Or there could be 6 with ball and boots, 1 with boot but no ball, and one with neither.

Reply 2

happysunshine

8

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Well, This is the hardest maths question I ever came across anyone who gets it right is a damn genious

A class has less than 30 students
Exactly 3/4 of them own footballs
Exactly 7/8 of them own football boots.

i)How many students are there in the class?
ii)How many students own both football boots and footballs?

Well it's got to be either, 8, 16 or 24 for a class size, right?

Reply 3

Dill

12

i agree, at first i assumed there were 24 kids in the class, 'coz that is the biggest number under 30 that 3/4 and 7/8 have integer answers to. but then again 16&8 also do, but 24 sounds more like a class total, i dunno, i just reckon it's 24, but you really can't be sure. this question just doesn't have enough information in to work it out : \ its quite weird.

Reply 4

OP

I cant write down 8, 16 or 24 in the exam can I :smile:

There must be a proper answer, Thats the whole question I've written it down correctly. It's a further maths q so no offence... :smile:

Reply 5

Godsize

I cant write down 8, 16 or 24 in the exam can I :smile:

There must be a proper answer, Thats the whole question I've written it down correctly. It's a further maths q so no offence... :smile:

There isn't enough information, all the answers are equally valid.

Reply 6

OP

Well,
They cant give an answer without enough information. There must be a way to calculate it. the number of students can be anything ranging from 1- 30

Reply 7

Dill

12

sure you don't have any more information? or do you at least have the answer? it's a really weird question, i mean, surely there is more than one answer...

Reply 8

username9816

14

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Well, This is the hardest maths question I ever came across anyone who gets it right is a damn genious

LOL.

Reply 9

Nylex

10

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Well,
They cant give an answer without enough information. There must be a way to calculate it. the number of students can be anything ranging from 1- 30

Well no, surely there has to be at least 8 students in the class, cos you can't have a non-integer number of children (which is also why 16 and 24 are the only other possible answers)..

Reply 10

Unregistered

do students have to be real or can they be imaginary?

Reply 11

happysunshine

8

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Well,
They cant give an answer without enough information. There must be a way to calculate it. the number of students can be anything ranging from 1- 30

And there are three possible answers. 24 is probably the likely one but the others are just as possible.

Reply 12

There can be 8, 16 or 24 students, if you need convincing, write out the possibilities for yourself. If the question asked for the minimum number of children in both parts to satisfy the conditions, then you could get a definite answer, but not otherwise.

Reply 13

OP

Well, then 8 - 30. Thats the whole problem! My Math Teacher ( a double maths phD) couldnt do it! There must be someone who can do it... bono try it atleast

Reply 14

Unregistered

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I cant write down 8, 16 or 24 in the exam can I?

yes you can. for example, the solution to x² - 4x + 3 = 0 is x = 1 or x = 3, so you can have "or" solutions in an exam

Reply 15

OP

Well, The answer asks for the NUMBER OF STUDENTS. an exact value to be specific. If it was minimum on maximum I wouldnt have pasted it would I :smile:

Reply 16

Nylex

10

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Well, The answer asks for the NUMBER OF STUDENTS. an exact value to be specific. If it was minimum on maximum I wouldnt have pasted it would I :smile:

Yeah, but all those solutions are valid.

Reply 17

Godsize

Well, The answer asks for the NUMBER OF STUDENTS. an exact value to be specific. If it was minimum on maximum I wouldnt have pasted it would I :smile:

Well can you not see there is not one definite answer?

Reply 18

OP

Thats a solution set. if it had asked for one, I surely would have done it. It asks for the number of students. It has to be a whole number and be an exact value.

Reply 19