GCSE maths question has left parents baffled as teens take exams this week
As students across the country put pen to paper for their first round of maths exams, one GCSE question is leaving their parents at a loss.
This will come as no surprise to youngsters, with polls showing that many don't think their parents' numeracy skills are up to scratch.
New research from revision website SaveMyExams has shown that only 42 percent of pupils believe their parents could pass a maths exam today.
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An additional 30 percent admitted their parents were left stumped when trying to help them out with exam questions.
One particularly tricky question featured on the website was deemed so difficult that over 92 percent of parents admitted they couldn't answer it.
Only a measly eight percent even hazarded a guess.
The head-scratcher in question involves a shape with all measurements set out in centimetres. Underneath, it says: "The area of the shape is A cm². Show that A=2x²=24x=46."
Confused?
So am I - and so are a vast majority of parents apparently.
Thankfully, SaveMyExams has a numbers expert on hand to explain how to decipher this question.
Lucy Kirkham said: "Seeing questions with loads of algebra can be scary but breaking them down into smaller chunks will help you work through them more easily.
"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.
"This question gives you the answer you’re working towards, which can sometimes be off-putting as you wonder ‘How am I ever going to get there?
"Don’t let it worry you, just try to start with the first step and you’ll surprise yourself with how far you can get! Even if you don’t get all the way through, marks are awarded for different stages of your working - so you can always try to pick up some marks and use our model answers to see how you’d pick up the rest."
Well, when you put it like that...
This comes as Rishi Sunak has insisted that British education should place a greater emphasis on mathematics, as he believes an 'anti-maths mindset' is holding back the British economy.
The PM is pushing for all pupils to study maths in some form until they reach the age of 18, although the subject would not be compulsory as an A-Level.
Students about to take their GCSE maths exams will sit two to three papers between 19 May and 14 June.
And if they could even understand the question included in this article, they're already way smarter than I'll ever be...
Ben Thompson