If you’re a parent, you know there will be moments when your kids need a little extra help with their homework. But sometimes, what they’re working on just doesn’t make sense—especially when it comes to math. Many of us struggled with math in school, so helping our children can feel like a challenge, especially when we’re unsure ourselves. What’s surprising, though, is that some math questions are tricky no matter who you are—kids and adults alike!
To make things even trickier, kids today are learning math in ways that are quite different from how we learned it in school. The logic behind it can feel unfamiliar—not just for us, but for our children too. Maybe that’s why a simple math question from an elementary student recently left a parent completely baffled. The moment happened in June 2023 and quickly went viral on social media, sparking a heated debate online.
When people first saw the question, they immediately thought they knew the answer — but little did they expect the heated debate that followed. Although it was a simple math question designed for kids, many adults found themselves scratching their heads.
A big part of the confusion came from the way the question was worded. It wasn’t just a straightforward problem; it required a bit of thinking “between the lines.”
Most people picked option D, since the time shown was 12:03, which seemed the closest to the target time of day. But others argued that the question asked for the closest time to — not the closest time until — which changed the perspective entirely. Suddenly, the idea of whether to consider the time before or after the target threw everyone off.
It’s great to encourage creative thinking, but many parents felt frustrated because, in math, things are supposed to be logical and clear-cut. Yet this question kept sparking debate long after it first appeared.
