Can you answer this ‘impossible’ maths question aimed at 10-year-olds?

Can you solve this maths question that has left kids and parents stumped after it was given to primary school pupils as homework.

Year 5 students at a school in Glossop, Derbyshire were asked to answer the question as part of a two-page paper – but flummoxed parents have branded it “impossible”.

The question, which was part of a section on calculating the perimeters of a series of rectilinear shapes, asks pupils to work out the perimeter of a shape with two sides labelled 12cm and 10cm.

However, a small portion of the shape is extended – confusing both the children and their parents, as it’s not obvious how you would work out the length of the smaller edges.

The section also included another difficult question, which labelled three edges but still gave no indication as to how the other edges could be calculated on the irregular shape.

One dad left baffled by the question posted it on his Facebook page, asking for help.

The 43-year-old father – who has an A-Level in maths – told the Manchester Evening News that he spent an hour trying to figure it out, but found it impossible.

“I even sent it to a friend who got a 1st class degree in economics and they were baffled by it as well,” he said.

He added: “I really do think it is impossible and it is certainly not something a ten-year-old can answer. It just does not make sense.”
 
 

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