A mother was left so stumped by her first-grader's homework that she had to reach out to social media to see if anyone else could make sense of it.

Homework is often hated by kids, but parents can find some of the questions just as frustrating as their little ones.

From not having practiced their own algebra in decades to just confusingly-worded equations, getting the correct answers can be something of a minefield.

One mother from the UK shared a question in her six-year-old daughter Lilly-Mo's homework sheet that had left them well and truly stumped - and it's safe to say they weren't the only ones who couldn't work it out.

Laura Rathbone, 40, took to Facebook to share the question that had baffled them, which asked the child to pick the "odd one out" between the following words: friend, desk, toothbrush, egg, and silver.

The mom, who lives in Buckinghamshire in England, told Today.com: "At first I thought I was losing my mind. I was like, 'What am I missing here?' So I posted in a group with loads of moms hoping they would have the answer."

Unfortunately, it seems nobody else was any the wiser, as she got a whole lot of conflicting answers in the comments.

One person wrote: "I would say toothbrush as it’s the only one with 2 syllables?", clearly forgetting that 'silver' also has two syllables in it, too...

Another commented: "You can only eat an egg…", someone else added: "Toothbrush is the only word without an E."

One pointed out: "Friend because it’s the only word that can not be phonetically sounded out. All others you can. Given its phonic homework that is what I would say it is checking."

Someone else added: "Silver. The others are nouns," while one wrote: "Friend because it’s a person and not an object," which is personally the one I would have gone for, too.

One follower commented: "As a teacher myself I actually think this is an interesting piece of homework. I would imagine designed to encourage thought, reasoning and probably discussion at home."

Despite everyone failing to come to an agreement on what the answer actually was, Laura admitted: "Everybody had different theories, and it was quite interesting! I really enjoyed reading all of the comments."

However, it turns out there is one right answer, as Laura reached out to Lilly-Mo's teacher to finally put herself out of her misery and find out.

It turns out that the correct answer was indeed 'silver' as the children had been learning about nouns at the time.

Laura did point out that it was still pretty confusing, as silver can be both an adjective and a noun - so it's no wonder everyone was left scratching their heads.

The mother added: "I also asked about this in my parents' WhatsApp chat and no one had the same answer. It's a real brain teaser!"

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A math question aimed at 10-year-olds has left the internet well and truly divided, with many unable to work out the correct answer.

If you thought homework seemed tough when you were at school, it's nothing compared to trying to scramble up all those equations and Pythagorean theorems when you've not given them a second thought for a few decades since you left.

So it's not wonder that frustrated parents sometimes take to the internet to see if anyone else has a clue what the answer to a homework question actually is.

One Reddit user left the internet stumped after sharing a question their fifth-grader brother had been set on their math exam.

Taking to Reddit, they wrote: "A test problem on my 5th-grade brother's math exam," before sharing a photo of the problem.

The question, intended for children between 10 and 11 years old, asked: "Klein read 30 pages of a book on Monday and 1/8 of the book on Tuesday. He completed the remaining 1/4 of the book on Wednesday. How many pages are there in the book?"

The confusing wording of the question left many scratching their heads as they realized they had no idea of the answer.

They took to the comments to write: "TIL [today I learned] I would fail fifth grade math", and: "5th grade me would not get this. Mid-40s me barely gets it."

Others added: "I always think to my self. 'Ugh. People should really be tested with basic skills before they're allowed to go out into society.' And then I see this and realize I shouldn't go out into society LOL!", and: "Damn, I don't know the answer but it must be a small book."

One wrote: "My brain said, nope not enough coffee yet. So I looked at the comments and said I see it now," while someone else simply added: "Man I feel dumb."

A commenter joked: "If you give me the title and author I can figure this out...these numbers mean nothing to me..." while someone else added: "I have a minor in math and at first I was like 'they didn’t give you enough information to solve' until I realized people did solve it and looked at it again. Made me feel like a numpty, but yeah. This is a bit much."

It turns out that the answer is 48, if you break down the number of eighths of the book Klein had left to read after the initial 30 pages he got through on Monday.

One Redditor explained it: "1 book = 30 pages + 1/8 book + 1/4 book. 1 book = 30 pages + 3/8 book. 1 book - 3/8 book = 30 pages. 5/8 book = 30 pages. 1 book = 48 pages."

And despite it being easily solvable when you know how, many people criticized the confusing way it was written, adding: "As a fifth grade teacher, this is a confusing question that I would have omitted. While not really difficult to solve for 5th graders concept-wise, it's framed in a confusing manner that seems like it's intended to confuse students. Even I was confused because it isn't really clear that Klein started the book on Monday. Had that been stated, I wouldn't have hesitated."

Another wrote: "Lot of people coping with their own inadequacies in this thread. This is a fantastic problem for a 5th grader. It is not specifically testing just one thing. It's reading comprehension, ability to construct the problem mathematically, and then solve it. This is what most of our education should be. Wrote memorization is f**king dummmmmb."

Others still believed it was simply impossible to discern an accurate answer from the information given, adding: "Technically it doesn’t say the 30 pages is the rest of the book, so I’d write not solvable," and: "Well it didn’t say he started at the beginning when he read the 30 pages so this is unsolvable."

Did you get it? Let us know in the comments below.

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It is no surprise that people on social media are often split over certain issues, but one particular question has left people thoroughly divided.

Part of the fun of social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter is that you can share a trivial question or riddle and people from all over the world can share their input. However, as we know all too well, this can also lead to comments sections becoming forums for heated debates.

And that's exactly what happened when The Daily Sprinkle shared a frivolous maths riddle on its Original Crafts and Hacks Facebook page.

The riddle was disguised as a simple question about two brothers: "When I was 6 my brother was half my age. Now I'm 30, how old is my brother?

Amazingly, the simple post has amassed more than 27,000 comments in just a matter of weeks. And it is perhaps easiest to split the responses into two categories: Correct Answers and Wrong Answers.

Let's start with the Wrong Answers...

One Facebook user replied: "He still half my age", and another agreed, commenting: "Half your age still."

"Of course 15 half of 30," another added, with another writing: "15 half his age".

In fact, "half his age" or "15" was a tremendously popular answer, with others adding: "15 yrs of age" and: "Yes he is 15 years old".

However, 15 is certainly the trap this particular riddle wants people to fall into. But let's just take a moment to break down the question and the maths involved.

"When I was 6 my brother was half my age..." - This means that when I was six years old, my brother would have been three years old.

"Now I'm 30, how old is my brother?" Well, if my brother was three years younger than me when I was six, it means he is - and always will be - three years younger than me.

So, 30 minus 3 equals 27. My brother is now 27 years old.

Fortunately, there were many people who did get the correct answer, as one Facebook user commented: "27. He’s always been 3 years younger, but not always half."

Another added: "I’m totally garbage at maths but it’s 27 it’s not rocket science can’t believe people are saying 15".

And, in the meantime, let's take a moment to appreciate Colin's genius answer and for causing such a stir:

Did you get the correct answer? Let us know in the comments.

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A seemingly simple maths question has sparked a fierce debate on social media.

Any parents out there will tell you that helping out the kids with their homework can often be easier than it sounds.

Yes, there's a reason the game show Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? has been able run for nearly two decades and span countless spin-offs around the globe.

You see, although many of us are arrogant enough to think we can open up a kid's textbook and score 100% on a test, in reality, some questions can - and do - leave us stumped.

Take this question for example, which has been circulating on social media since June 2023 - but people still can't agree on a concrete answer.

So, is the question about the meaning of life? A higher power? The true meaning behind George Orwell's most captivating work?

No - it's about a clock.

The question reads: "What is the closest time to midnight?" The following four possible answers are then provided:

A. 11:55AM

B. 12:06AM

C. 11:50AM

D. 12:03:AM

Now, you may be thinking, "Well, that's easy" - but I can assure you, you probably have a different answer to about 75% of your household.

Some people were adamant the answer was A, with one person writing: "Time is a scaler quantity meaning it only goes in 1 direction, forward. So answer is A."

But others agreed:

Others were confident the answer was D, with one X user tweeting: "D is the only answer that makes sense no matter how you look at it."

And many others, once again, agreed:

There were some rogue answers for B and C too, but both A and D were, without a doubt, the two most popular choices.

Now, I'm just going to share some of the logic behind the two answers.

"The use of 'To' and not 'till' is the only reason for pause before answering," one person wrote. Another interjected: "Do you want which one is closest to becoming midnight because it’s A, or do you want which one is closest to midnight in the current minute which is D."

"It can't be D because it will take a whole 23 hours to get to midnight again so it's A," another added.

Some people even took to asking AI for the correct answer (with AI declaring D the correct answer),

As I see it, if I told a friend I'd meet them at midnight, I'd probably think they'd be okay with me rocking up three minutes late at 12:03AM rather than nearly 12 hours late at 11:55AM - as, y'know, that's the closest TO midnight.

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