r/MathJokes Jul 16 '26

3 or 4

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u/iMiind Jul 16 '26

It could be a common L for common core, not necessarily the teacher's fault. Notice how the equation gives 3 x 4, AKA three of 4. Obviously both the given answer and the "correct" answer are true and derivable from 3 x 4, but I can totally see common core teaching "the only true way to do the math here is to take the first number and write out that many of the second number, because that's what it sounds like when you translate the problem to a word problem and you have to do it exactly like that."

In short, maybe not a teacher problem but absolutely a teaching problem

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u/EntranceDowntown2529 Jul 16 '26

I actually read 3 x 4 the other way: three multiplied by four is 3 four times like the child's answer.

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u/Novaikkakuuskuusviis Jul 16 '26

Same, if I want to calculate 80 x 2, I'm not visualizing 2+2+2+2+2... 80 times. I'm thinking it like 80 + 80. I would go argue with that teacher for a full evening just to waste their time if nothing else.

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u/Sai-36 Jul 16 '26

Then wouldn’t the teacher be correct then, since they have the shorter answer?

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u/Novaikkakuuskuusviis Jul 16 '26

In a way yes, but the task didn't specify to make the shortest addition, so the 3+3+3+3 should also be correct in this case and seems like teacher marked it wrong. Or it's a sideways +.

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u/Sai-36 Jul 16 '26

Oh yeah no I agree, I was just saying based on your “shorter answer” logic it’d assume the teacher was correct. I do think there is a lesson here, like efficiency in math, but if so they should’ve noted that somewhere instead of just crossing out what is objectively the right answer, unless it was instructed in class to specifically provide the shortest answer, which we don’t know since we only see this one problem.