Tricky Head Scratcher! Can You Solve The 3rd Grader's Math Problem That Baffles Even Adults?

January 28, 2019

The internet is a funny thing and it often presents people with the strangest challenges. For instance, a Reddit user once uploaded the most baffling riddle given to a 3rd grade student during a test.

This 3rd grade math problem... from r/funny

The riddle says:

Janell had 15 marbles. She lost some of them. How many does Janell have now?

And that's all the information given. Not a lot, right? As expected, kids couldn't figure out the answers, so adults were called for help. However, even the smartest minds were stumped by the question!

Tricky Head Scratcher! Can You Solve The 3rd Grader's Math Problem That Baffles Even Adults?Tricky Head Scratcher! Can You Solve The 3rd Grader's Math Problem That Baffles Even Adults? Velveteye / Shutterstock.com

How people tried to solve the riddle

Some tried using complicated formulas, which didn't make the assignment any easier on people. Plus, we need to keep in mind that this math problem was made for a 3rd grader and not a college professor.

@Lenny_Here:

Come on guys, this is basic grade 3 stuff... /s

Answer: 15 - n {n ∈ ℤ | 1<n<15}

@Fastfingers_McGee:

15-n where n is an element of the set of integers such that 1 is less than n and n is less than 15.

For the people who don't know what that is.

@sim642:

That's some weird notation you got there. It's much more common to just write {15 - n | n ∈ ℤ, 1<n<15}.

Tricky Head Scratcher! Can You Solve The 3rd Grader's Math Problem That Baffles Even Adults?Tricky Head Scratcher! Can You Solve The 3rd Grader's Math Problem That Baffles Even Adults? wk1003mike / Shutterstock.com

In the end, some people started to realize that the answer might not be a specific number but can be explained in a very simple manner.

@Rithe:

Well. It would have to be 15 - X, where 15 <= X >= 1

She can't lose more than she started with, and losing something implies at least 1

Can you figure out a solution?

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The answer

In the simplest terms, the answer is “less than 15.” Now that we see it, we can't believe how obvious the solution has been all along!

via GIPHY

Were you able to solve this riddle? Share it with your friends to see how they handle it!