The head-scratching maths exam question that 92% of parents can't work out
16.06.2023 - 03:15
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
For those of us who weren't great at maths in school, the mere sight of a difficult equation can send our heads into a spin.
Even people who fared slightly better in class is likely to have forgotten some of the teachings, so when they're presented with an exam question, it's difficult to remember how to solve it.
The recent exam season may have meant your children were asking for help with revision. But a recent study has shown that a lot of parents don't have the skills required to assist their youngsters with maths practice.
The Mirror reports that in the experiment, parents were given a GCSE maths question to answer, which is the equivalent to National 5 in Scotland.
But a whopping 92% couldn't work it out. and only 8% of parents even made an attempt in the first place.
So, can you work out the answer or will the pressure get too much for you?
The questions asks people to 'show that (x + 1) (x + 2) (x + 3) can be written in the form ax3 + bx2 + d are positive integers, and experts at Save My Exams have tried to simplify it by breaking it down.
Maths Lead Lucy Kirkham admitted that "seeing questions with loads of Algebra can be scary".
But she reassured people sitting exams that it helps to break the equation down into smaller, more manageable pieces. This way, it'll help you to work it out with ease.
She said: "Our maths experts at Save My Exams create colour-coded model answers which break down each question into easier steps to carefully guide users to the correct answer."
You can see the answer to the question below, broken down and colour-coded - so don't scroll if you're still attempting to solve it.
Lucy urged people not to be put off by questions that give you an answer to work towards, but understands how