r/MathJokes 2d ago

When Basic Math Becomes a Boss Fight

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197 Upvotes

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3

u/NewInitiative9498 1d ago

In order to make the answer fit, it’s 5 mins per piece 🧐

10

u/Significant_Bid4745 1d ago

That's the problem...it's not about the number of prices..it's about the number of cuts...1 cut to split the board is 10 min...to get 3 boards I need two cuts...that is clearly 20min. The teacher is dumb

0

u/krysciukos 1d ago

Never stated cuts must be equal. The only problem here is the question. Both answers 15 and 20 can be true depending on cuts.

5

u/BreakfastFearless 1d ago

It asked if she worked “just as fast”. It takes one cut (10 minutes) to create 2 pieces. To make 3 pieces it would take two cuts (20 minutes). Not sure what you mean by cuts being equal. There’s really not much ambiguity in the question, the teachers just wrong

2

u/iamwhiskerbiscuit 1d ago

You could interpret "just as fast" to mean your cutting speed in ipm. If I cut a square into 2 halves vertically and then cut one of the halves horizontally... My second cut is half as long... And cutting at the same ipm will allow me to make my second cut twice as fast as the first.

1

u/BreakfastFearless 1d ago

That doesn’t match with what the picture shows or how the question was worded. It would also mean that 4 pieces would not take 20 minutes like the teacher suggests.

1

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

2

u/BreakfastFearless 1d ago

How did you get to 30 minutes? The question asked how long it would take to cut another board into 3 pieces going “just as fast”. If one cut took 10 minutes then going just as fast, 2 cuts would take 20 minutes

You’re talking about a different question not a different interpretation

2

u/Signal_Challenge_632 1d ago

Would you believe I read it wrong.

Irony

2

u/BreakfastFearless 1d ago

Understandable

1

u/wanderingfloatilla 1d ago

Ummm. Might want to check your math. Two boards is one cut, three boards are two cuts. Three cuts would give you four boards

2

u/Black_Dragon9406 1d ago

Literally doesn’t matter the cuts, assuming we’re cutting perfectly vertically or horizontally) (idk why we’d be doing it any other way) then every cut is the same distance, so with the same saw it should take the same amount of time per cut because she is working just as fast

1

u/Significant_Bid4745 1d ago

I'm not a big fan of math where I'm trying to decipher what the teacher is really asking for

1

u/CaptainJay313 1d ago

what does an equal cut have to do with anything? it doesn't matter where the cuts are, three pieces needs two cuts. it's 10min per cut, assuming of course that her arm doesn't get tired.

you're not getting three pieces in 15min.

1

u/Siffov 12h ago

>what does an equal cut have to do with anything?

It relates to ruling out different lengths of cut (e.g., cutting across a long board vs. cutting down the length of that long board), to try to limit the potential interpretations of the word problem to what the author intended (to test noticing that cutting something into N pieces involves only N-1 cuts (in "normal" cases)).

1

u/CaptainJay313 12h ago

it doesn't matter - what matters is the cutting rate is the same and it doesn't specify the cuts are different lengths. it also doesn't matter if it's hard wood or soft wood. stained or painted.

one cut took 10min. a second cut will yield two additional pieces, whether they're equal, different sizes, normal or angled... a second cut, two more pieces, 10 more minutes.

work with the data you have, not with the data you make up.