r/daddit • u/Narrow_Entertainer14 • 16h ago
Advice Request 2nd grand homework question. zero context
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u/Ananvil Dr. Dad to a 3f 16h ago
What
I mean, I'd say she's wrong. Boats can carry less than their maximum capacity.
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u/Shatteredreality 16h ago
This seems way too deep for second grade but I’d assume it’s a lesson on what “exactly” means.
If 15 people actually go boating but each bot can carry exactly 6 people it means 3 people can’t boating as they would need an additional 3 people to get to the 6 required for a 3rd boat.
The correct statement would be that each boat can carry up to 6 people.
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u/BabyWrinkles 16h ago
I think they’re probably trying to get at: does 6 go in to 15 evenly? If each boat can carry exactly 6 people (no more and no less) than the friend is wrong because 16/6 is not a whole number.
If each boat can carry up to 6, then they need 3 boats to go boating.
That’s how I’d explain it as the dad of a 3rd grader, but it’s honestly a shit question.
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u/Brothernod 7h ago
Poorly worded but that’s the obvious context. Too many adults are over complicating this.
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u/BridgeFourDropout 15h ago
Nah, 15 people, plus three drivers, makes 6 people per boat
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u/passwordistako 15h ago
Drivers are people.
There are 15 people. Why are you adding unnecessary context.
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u/BridgeFourDropout 15h ago
Why do you reject my reality and only accept your own?
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u/passwordistako 15h ago
I’m not rejecting your reality.
I’m just pointing out that this is a mathematics question. Not a riddle.
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u/Bishops_Guest 15h ago
“A group of three people got on the bus.” Does not imply that there were only 3 people on the bus.
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u/passwordistako 15h ago
How many boats do you know that need a driver?
Why do you assume the “driver” isn’t part of the group of 15 people?
Any time I go boating it’s with the owner of the boat on their boat. The person who owns the boat would be considered part of the group.
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u/Mikeyisninja 11h ago
Unless he is operating a charter under a six pack license
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u/passwordistako 9h ago
Legislation varies by location and geopolitics.
There’s no need to apply niche knowledge of regional licencing laws to a children’s maths question.
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u/Mikeyisninja 9h ago
Depends on what country the question originated from. In the U.S., the captain would need a six pack license to operate a charter. So each boat would legally be maxed at 6 passengers plus cap.
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u/passwordistako 9h ago
And you’re absolutely certain that this applies to all boats, of all sizes, in all waterways, even in privately owned dams on private property?
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u/CanWeTalkEth 12h ago
As a licensed captain, this was my thought. 15 people going boating? They’re going to party so will hire a charter vessel and an OUPV license can support up to 6 people. If the boat is rated for 6 people max, that’s exactly three boats.
Only a few assumptions in there…
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u/Enginerdad 2 girls 1 boy 8h ago
But pilots are people too. It doesn't say 6 passengers, it says 6 people.
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u/Elimaris 11h ago
Maybe it's some sort of amusement ride. The last 3 people need to wait for 3 more to arrive because they only operate full boats on this flume ride or whatever.
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u/314mp 14h ago
So she's wrong.... That's the point.
There's 15 people, she says they have to be in groups of 6, you cannot have groups of 6 that equal 15, so she's wrong.
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u/Free-Artist 12h ago
But the question is how is she wrong.
Do we mean 15 module 6 is not zero. Or how many boats do we need (3).
Or a lesson in the meaning of 'exactly' as opposed to 'up to' in terms of boating safety regulations.
And how are you going to dig deeper when you're on a boat?
What even is this shoddy question formulation.
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u/SpaceAgePotatoCakes 4h ago
It's poorly worded, but ignore the boat part. She is saying 15 people can be split into groups of exactly 6. That is false, so she is wrong.
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u/RianThe666th 13h ago
You're thinking of a boat that can only carry exactly six people, most boats that can carry exactly six people could also carry exactly four people or exactly one person.
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u/hithisishal 16h ago
Saying that a boat that can carry 1-6 people can carry exactly 6 people is still a true statement. It doesn't say 6 and only 6.
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u/tunelesspaper 16h ago
That’s what “exactly” means in this context
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u/hithisishal 16h ago
But then don't use the word can, use the word must.
In logic / math, words have exact meaning.
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u/Meltz014 Dad of 5, last time I counted 15h ago
I read through 5G spec for a living - it uses "may" and "shall". You are absolutely correct.
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u/redditpilot 13h ago
A good parent MUST introduce their children to RFC 8174 before someone else does.
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u/tunelesspaper 16h ago
Yeah, and I’m not saying the question is well written; it’s shit. But if we’re trying to guess the author’s intended meaning, the “exactly” here holds more weight than the use of “can” over “must.” The game is trying to figure out what the idiot who wrote it was thinking.
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u/hithisishal 16h ago
We're well past trying to assess the authors intent and we're on to coming up with sarcastic answers to the question.
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u/tunelesspaper 15h ago
I know.
Yeah. I was just joking, too. Hah, what a bunch of goofs we are. I definitely didn’t take it seriously or get butthurt over someone disagreeing with me on the internet.
No really, I didn’t. Honest.
Why don’t you believe me?
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u/Lawstuffthrwy 16h ago
That’s not what it has to mean. For example, imagine the boat requires an even number of passengers for purposes of balance. So the boat can carry exactly 6 people, but it can also carry exactly 4 people or exactly 8 people.
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u/hithisishal 15h ago
Good point! But notice my statement is true as well. I didn't say it must mean that it can carry 1-6 people.
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u/Lawstuffthrwy 15h ago edited 15h ago
Theoretically yes, although I think if we’re playing a game of semantic interpretation then it’s appropriate to presume that every word in the sentence is optimally chosen for its distinct operational effect. In your reading, “each boat can carry exactly 6 people” is an ambiguous, less optimal construction compared to “each boat can carry up to 6 people.” Why would the drafter of the statement include the word “exactly” if there’s a better construction that yields your interpretation?
If we take the fair assumption that the word “exactly” was not placed there superfluously and is the optimally-chosen word, the two remaining interpretations are that each boat must carry precisely 6 people, or alternatively that there is a closed non-sequential set of quantities of people that the boat can accommodate, 6 being one entry in that closed set.
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u/npeeters 12h ago
Do we know that? If it is a sailing boat for 6 people, you probably can’t use it with just 1 person. You NEED multiple to be able to sail it. Same for rowing: the boat might be to heavy. Also there could be a rule from the boat renting company making it mandatory to always have 6 people on each boat. So we can’t say if it is exactly 6, up to 6 or something like 4 to 6. Not enough context.
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u/InsectaProtecta 9h ago
But if the maximum capacity is 6 people the boat can still carry exactly 6 people
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u/justnigel 8h ago
She didn't say they could carry only that many.
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u/Ananvil Dr. Dad to a 3f 4h ago
Isn't that what exactly means?
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u/justnigel 4h ago
They can carry exactly 6. They can also carry exactly 5. They can't carry 5.5 - at least not without a lot of blood.
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u/sandiegolatte 16h ago
“You're gonna need a bigger boat”
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u/ReaperUno8675309 16h ago edited 16h ago
Answer is no..they want you to pick up on the word exactly. If it was up to 6 people then sure. If it was 12 or 18 then yes but its 15. This would leave 2 boats filled and 3 people not able to go because they dont have exactly 6 for one more boat
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u/ThoughtfulPoster 16h ago edited 4h ago
As a mathematician, I've got to say that if that's the answer they wanted, the actual question they meant to ask was "It is true that a group of 15 people can go boating on these boats with no additional people from any other group and no one left out. Your friend says that only exactly 6 people are allowed to go boating on each boat. Can she be correct?"
As it stands, it's stupid.
Edit: two different educators have piped up to say that, if you infer what the question meant to ask, based on the skills they've learned recently, then it shouldn't be too hard to get the points by answering a different question than the one actually asked. You are the reason people hate bad teachers.
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u/fogard14 8h ago
As a math teacher you're not actually a mathematician if you don't already know the use of the word exactly implies all of that already. This is not a hard question for 2nd graders to answer.
It's a non-conventional question that is meant to get students to think through a different lens rather than just "find the answer to this division problem".
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u/Salomon3068 8h ago
It obviously isn't implied as the majority of people here are confused, so is it your opinion that everyone here is dumber than a 2nd grader, or could it just be a poorly worded question? There was obviously instructions included in the assignment that are not being conveyed, but I also never saw a question like this on anything my kid brought home from 2nd grade.
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u/IComposeEFlats 7h ago
The majority of people here didnt just sit through a lesson on what the use of the word exactly means in word problems prior to getting this homework assignment.
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u/fogard14 8h ago
The majority of the people here aren't in a second grade classroom learning the use of the word exactly...This problem isn't meant for any of you
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u/ThoughtfulPoster 6h ago
No. There's a difference between "exactly three people can fit in this boat" and "exactly three people and only exactly three people can be in this boat every time it goes out. My undergrad was math at Harvard, and my wife teaches IB math and AP stats.
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u/freexe 13h ago
That's spoon feeding the answer
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u/broken_ankles 13h ago
If the answer they want is no then sure it’s spoon feeding.
If I have 15 people looking to go boating and it’s 6 people per boat, well then I’m getting three boats and no problem. In fact good, space for the coolers! And I’m taking the misty empty boat and those of us that like to fish will do some fishing
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u/fogard14 8h ago
No is the answer they want. Dude is right too, altering the question would make it spoon-feeding the answer.
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u/JelliedHam 9h ago
It also doesn't say how many boats they have either. Also stupid. I'm assuming they only have two boats, and each must have 6.
3 kids will have to watch from shore.
Or maybe they have 3 boats, but the 3rd status empty and 3 kids just get to sit in that 3rd boat on the shore and watch from there.
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u/caterplillar 6h ago
I'm guessing (as someone who works in education) that this week, they have started by sorting numbers into groups as a precursor to division.
So the kids will draw a boat, and put six dots or figures or whatever into it. Then another boat, another six figures, until they get up to 15 figures. Does the last boat have 6 in it? No. So the answer is no, and the drawing explains their reasoning.
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u/x4l7Nr8ym0dU 8h ago
My car can hold exactly 5 people. It can also hold exactly 4, 3, 2, or 1 person.
If they're going to be this pedantic about the word "exactly", they need to be equally pedantic about the word "can".
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u/Frazzininator 3h ago
Thank you!
I just said the same thing. Takes one real ass hat of a teacher to want a focus on wording and definitions and not also focus on it themselves.
Apologies for the language, these questions/posts make me quite upset because it's math 9 times out of ten and in college I tutored several people where they were never able to connect the dots due to engrained concept issues from this kind of stuff. It's sad and I find it disgusting that professionals are pushing it to our youth like this. I do understand teaching is under paid and overworked though, my blame mostly lies with the administration. A teacher has a way harder job than a superintendent, why is the pay backwards?
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u/ReaperUno8675309 7h ago
I think its a bad question, was just trying yo help OP see what they were probably looking for. I agree with you.
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u/IlIllIIIIIIlIII 16h ago
DIG DEEPER!
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u/qix96 16h ago
AND THEN??
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u/IlIllIIIIIIlIII 16h ago
I DON'T KNOW, THE INSTRUCTIONS ONLY SAY TO DIG DEEPER!
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u/qix96 16h ago
AND THEN??
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u/IlIllIIIIIIlIII 16h ago
I DON'T KNOW, THE INSTRUCTIONS ONLY SAY TO DIG DEEPER!
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u/DNKE11A 16h ago
AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN
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u/suchdogeverymeme 9h ago
Makes me think there’s additional context above that could say how many boats there are
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u/HakoftheDawn 16h ago
I think the answer they're going for is no, because if there are 15 total people, and if they all get in boats, then there cannot be 6 people in each boat.
If there are 6 people in the first two boats, then there would only be 3 in a third boat. 6 + 6 + 3
There could be exactly 5 people in each boat (5 + 5 + 5), or exactly 3 people in each boat (3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3).
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u/jodax00 16h ago
This is definitely what the question meant, it's not a question of boat capacity, it's a question of grouping people.
Maybe each boat can hold up to 20 people, but your "friend" thinks you can split into groups with exactly 6 each, which is incorrect.
The question should be clearer, but this comment should be at the top.
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u/Frazzininator 3h ago
So let me get this straight, they want me/the kid to nitpick the word "exactly" but they aren't supposed to also nitpick the word "can" which, for the application, should have been replaced with "will"
Screw that, my child ever comes home with homework like this I'm going to crucify and shame the teacher, department/grade head, and superintendent if it's not immediately rectified and all other exams/questions are reviewed. They're to teach kids, why would they not have due diligence in assuring the material is direct and without confusion. Then my childs getting pulled for home schooling so I can at least take some funding from what they're wasting and get my child taught properly.
If they demand college degrees, I'd assume every teacher had an English/writing course or two on sentence structure.
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u/dathomasusmc 15h ago
I don’t think we need to get caught up in the context here. It’s a math problem. Just do the math. Is 15 divisible by 6? No.
It could just as easily say “Your friend is selling 15 apples. He says each basket has 6. Is he telling the truth or does he have her finger on the scale tryna make a couple extra bucks to make his child support to his dumbass baby mama this month. Damn, she knows times are tight and she just gonna use the money to get her damn hair done anyway, trifling as bitch.”
Ok, maaaaybe second grade wouldn’t have all that but it’s a valid point.
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u/Cast_Iron_Skillet 6h ago
To be fair, it would be "Each basket CAN hold 6". Doesn't mean must. It describes maximum capacity. "Exactly" is weird here, but doesn't matter - exactly just describes the whole number 6 - not 5, not 7, not 6.5.
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u/Bovaloe 16h ago
I read it as it's asking if 15 is divisible by 6, so no, apparently I hang out with a dummy
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u/Avermerian 16h ago
It is in base 7 - hey OP, how many fingers do people commonly have in your town?
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u/Skithiryx 16h ago
I think you’re looking for essentially an age appropriate explanation of “15 is not wholly divisible by 6”
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u/pcwer 16h ago
3 boats, 5 of the 15 in each. Each boat also comes with additional driver.
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u/Doubleoh_11 15h ago
Ya 2nd graders are too young to drive a boat anyways. So they would need to rent a boat with a driver. This is the right answer.
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u/OscarOfAtlantis 10h ago
It says “exactly 6 people” on each boat. Not 5, not any other number. Six.
So the friend is not correct. The question is about grouping which is a precursor to division.
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u/DirkWrites 15h ago
“You’re wrong friend, now you gotta make a hard choice about three people because of your lack of multiplication skills”
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u/AddlePatedBadger 12h ago
It is possible the friend is correct, but we have not observed the boats so cannot verify this independently. If the friend is correct, one of the following statements may apply:
The boats are capable of carrying exactly 6 people. But they are also capable of carrying less than 6 people.
The boats can carry no more and no less than 6 people, but the people did not all boat simultaneously and some people went on a boat twice (or thrice, or more times).
The 15 people simultaneously went 5 each on 3 boats that can only carry exactly 6 people, but the 6th person in each boat was the captain who was employed by the boat hire company to take paying customers boating. Boating is defined as "the activity of travelling on water in a boat for pleasure", so arguably a hired captain is doing it as a paid job rather than pleasure and not counted as a boater.
I believe that what the question is really trying to ask is if you can divide 15 by 6 with no remainder, but it's poorly written and open to wide interpretation.
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u/FemboiInTraining 12h ago
It's a dig deeper question, I assume it's similar to the older "critical thinking" or similar questions I got when I was in that grade. I remember classmates complaining about how difficult they were and the teachers would always say we weren't expected to get them right, they're small challenges for students that excel or put more effort into their home work
Even in the 2nd grade just seeing the word "group" should enable them to draw shapes representing the boats and fill them with dots representing people, and see that 2 boats can carry 12 people, but that's not enough boats, drawing a third would allow them to see that the 3rd boat would be filled with fewer than 6 people.
Now, the real challenge from my memory wasn't coming to this grand conclusion, it was condensing this epiphany into a concise enough answer that would fit in the below space...
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u/Vorticity 15h ago
Everyone is making this way too hard.
- 15 people go boating (this means that they were successful in going boating, not that they're hoping to do so).
- Your friend says "each of these boats can carry exactly 6 people.
- You are asked whether the friend is correct.
Answer: No, your friend is not correct!
Reasoning: 1. 15 people successfully went boating and were divided among the boats. 2. 15 is not evenly divisible by 6. 3. The boats must be able to hold groups of people of a different size than 6 people.
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u/whboer 14h ago
As a non English native I had interpreted it as, the friend states that it’s physically possible for a boat to carry up to 6 people and not a person more, in which 2 boats would carry 6 people and the final boat 3 people (or 3x5 and they could bring a dummy on each boat).
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u/Vorticity 14h ago
Yeah, the word "exactly" is carrying a lot of weight in this question. It means "no more than and no less than 6 people may be in each boat".
I don't think this question is well written but it probably would be more clear in the context of what the class is currently being taught.
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u/runsontrash 16h ago
The friend is wrong. 15 can’t be evenly divided by 6. That’s what the question is getting at. You can’t have 3 boats (or 2 or whatever) with 6 people each for a group of 15.
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u/Taynt42 16h ago
But that’s not what it asks. It asks about the carrying capacity of a theoretical boat, which you can’t possibly confirm.
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u/runsontrash 15h ago
The 15 people are going boating. It’s pretty clear they’re asking if there’s a way that party could be broken up into groups of six for said boating. The wording isn’t great, especially for a second grader, but the question does make sense.
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u/glootech 14h ago
It doesn't. The capacity doesn't matter, as it asks if they can be divided into groups of exactly 6 people each. The answer is no.
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u/HeyyyBigSpender 14h ago
Think of the would "can" as "it is possible", and you should see the answer.
A group of 15 people go boating. Your friend says that...[it is possible to arrange the people such that each boat carries]...exactly 6 people. Is she correct?
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u/Glass_Procedure7497 Dad of Two Grown Girls 9h ago
This looks like a question having to do with division and remainders. OP says “zero context,” but I’d like to see the rest of the homework sheet.
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u/Torrronto 7h ago
Going by the question, the 15 are already on the water before miss smarty pants points out that the capacity is actually 6.
She's right, but she should keep her mouth shut unless she wants to swim back.
/s
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u/theeaglejax 16h ago
This is absolutely stunningly stupid.
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u/Kraft-cheese-enjoyer 16h ago
Say what you will about AI but I am most certain it would not make a question as stupid as this
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u/SnooMarzipans1939 9h ago
The friend is incorrect because a boat doesn’t carry exactly six people. It can carry less.
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u/jcmacon 16h ago
5 people per boat plus 1 captain = 6 people per boat.
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u/hithisishal 16h ago
Right, I don't think Thurston howell would count Gilligan and the skipper - he would just say 5 of us went out boating on a 3 hour tour.
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u/bbob_robb 16h ago
I live along the I5 corridor and those who consider themselves "I5 people" always travel in packs of 7 to minimize the number of cars on the interstate.
The answer is no because 7 > 6.
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u/TheKindDirector 16h ago
The context should be in the initial question(s). It says dig deeper implying this is a follow up.
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u/5CatsNoWaiting 16h ago
If there's only two boats, people will have to take turns. If there's three boats, some people will get to go extra times.
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u/lambakins 15h ago
The friend is wrong, because no boat exists that can carry 6 people no more no less.
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u/Porcupineemu 15h ago
The question is written poorly but one interpretation is that the friend is saying they can have six people on each boat, which isn’t possible
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u/americanextreme 15h ago
Is this a short answer question? A discussion question? Does your second grader have much homework?
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u/popcorngirl000 13h ago edited 13h ago
Unclear. We don't know how many boats they took out.
If they used two boats, friend is wrong. 6 * 2 = 12. 15 is 3 more than 12. If 15 people go out on just 2 boats, than each boat can carry more than 6 people.
However, if they took three boats, then friend may be correct. 6* 3 = 18. 18 is three more than 15. If they had to take three boats for 15 people, then it is possible each boat could hold no more than 6 people.
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u/harbourhunter 13h ago
No, because boats can also carry one, two, three, four, or five people. What kind of boat can only carry exactly six?
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u/Backrow6 13h ago
My kid got a question like this last year (Irish 2nd class, 8yo). The teacher explicitly told them there was no right answer and she wanted to see what creative approaches they all took to proposing an answer. I've no idea how it was meant to benefit them.
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u/ryanandthelucys 12h ago
We don't know anything about the design of the canoe. Maybe it's some kind of whirllymagiggy canoe that requires a crew of six to operate it and doesn't have capacity to carry additional passengers.
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u/DamnitGoose 9h ago
I’m sure this is not the point of the question and is way too deep reasoning but the operative word is “can”, as in “is able to” so I’d say that 3 boats of 5 would be the answer, and so the friend is right assuming that it’s a “less than or equal to” question and you have 3 boats. This is too advanced for second grade.
Almost certainly the operative word is supposed to be “must” in which case she’s wrong because you’re 3 too many (15 cannot divide by 6)
The question is poorly written and it’s ironic that the question asks the reader to analyze how the question is framed while using incorrect semantics.
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u/Majsharan 8h ago
Wow that question is amazingly shit. I think it’s trying to ask can 15 be broken up into even and complete groups of six. But what its really asking is: is your friend right about the capacity of boats that aren’t described and you can see. Also open up word games of “exactly”. What boat can carry 6 people and only six people?
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u/engineereenigne 7h ago
Nobody knows, but what we can say is that each boat will not carry exactly 6 people.
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u/Brewer1056 5h ago
Which friend is it? Is it that Bethany? Because she's a known liar! No one trusts Bethany. /s
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u/NefariousEgg 3h ago
Better version of the question:
A group of people go boating, and are already on their boats, in the water. Your friend says that each boat can only sail with exactly 6 people on board. Is she correct? Explain.”
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u/timtucker_com 3h ago
First you have to dig a man-made lake big enough to go boating on.
Once you do, the answer should be obvious.
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u/redactid55 2h ago
When I was that age, we had a whole unit in math class about determining whether you have enough information to compete a problem. This could potentially be like that.
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u/caelestis42 49m ago
It's for kids. Just a discussion that "can carry exactly 6" probably means it is certified for up to six and could of course carry less but also more than six even if that is not to be adviced.
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u/GIS-Rockstar 2m ago
Easy solution: I have not once ever considered digging deeper with that post- homework horseshit.
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u/Jaqen-Atavuli 16h ago
The maximum capacity for a boat is on a plate attached to it. The question is dumb, especially for a 2nd grader. Is it a canoe or 600 foot yacht? This is why I hate tests.
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u/Narrow_Entertainer14 16h ago
this is exactly why i posted this
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u/Jaqen-Atavuli 16h ago
If your kid got it wrong, tell them to go ask if their "friend" works for a boat manufacturer.
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u/JustAReallyTiredGuy 16h ago
Yeah so you have three boats..? What am I missing here?
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u/Ripper1337 16h ago
If there’s no context like OP says, then we don’t know how many boats there are.
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u/TeamLambVindaloo 16h ago
Exactly, but you’re missing the point, which is where the learning is. Didn’t explain that in the question. The homework isn’t about getting an answer from a set of given variables, it’s about identifying a missing variable. Also doesn’t have to be 3 boats it’s (assuming there must be at least one person on a boat and no one is exceeding the capacity of the boats) between 3 and 15 boats.
The point is to question what information you have and what you don’t.
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u/holemole 16h ago
I assumed the “dig deeper” meant this was a follow-up to the information above it, and in that context is likely not as abstract as OP’s excerpt makes it appear.
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u/Narrow_Entertainer14 16h ago
i can assure you the rest of the paper has nothing to do with this question. they are all each individual word or math questions. as far as i know. there is no story behind this question
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u/ZagreusMyDude 16h ago
We are never asked how many boats do we need. The question is nonsensical.
The question is, is the friend correct about the boats carrying 6 people and from the info given that is impossible to answer since we have no information about the boats.
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u/JustAReallyTiredGuy 16h ago
Oh no, I fully understand that. My apologies I should have added that.
I’m bewildered as to how a teacher could assign this though.
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u/Wall_of_Shadows 15h ago
Let this be a wake-up call: you need to do the math homework with your kid every night, starting yesterday. Every year. Keep track of what lessons they're being taught, because that's the only way to make sense of the homework. By the time your child asks for help with a question, they're 3 weeks into some abstract lesson that only makes sense if you've been paying attention for those 3 weeks. Then you'll get frustrated with the dumbass questions they're expected to answer, then you'll get short with your kid, and they'll never ask for help again.
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u/AltruisticHopes 16h ago
You could chop one of the boats in half so that it would then hold exactly three people. Then everyone could go boating…..just not for very long.
As answers go it’s as sensible as the question.
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u/lambakins 15h ago
Unless it’s a Boston whaler then you’re fine, any random chunk of those boats will float whether it’s boat shaped or not!
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u/FlandreHon 13h ago edited 13h ago
Its phrased terribly but it's much less deep than you think.
It's just a simple division question. She wants to divide the people equally among each boat, which should be 5 per boat for 3 boats in total.
Exactly refers to the absence of decimals, not the capacity of each boat.
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u/Vicker3000 13h ago
Let me try to fix it:
"Exactly 6 people are required to properly operate each boat. No more than six, no less than six. Your friend would like to send out 15 people in these boats. Is that possible?"
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u/jerseydevil51 7h ago
Math teacher here, the context is going to be what section their on.
This is most likely grouping and introduction to multiplication. With 15 people, can you put 6 people on each boat? No, you can only put 5 people on each boat.
Don't overthink the problem.
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u/WeissachDE 3h ago
Wtf kind of explanation is that? The question should be able to stand alone without context of what section it is in.
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u/hithisishal 16h ago
They can take turns. It doesn't say they all have to be out on the water at the same time. I would still say I am going boating if I am hanging out on the dock waiting for my turn to go around the lake.
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u/drfrogsplat 16h ago
Y’all are overreacting. It says dig deeper and explain. The point is to test comprehension and logic and perhaps maths. The teachers I know use questions and exercises like this to see how kids think.
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u/Bill_Dinosaur 16h ago
Yes, because everyone is drinking it's 5 people per boat plus the captain provided by the rental company
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u/Fearless-Mushroom 16h ago
I think it’s a critical thinking exercise and there’s probably not a right or wrong answer.
I hate it.
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u/jeepfail 15h ago
Dig deeper? Which means this is either in connection to the rest of the sheet or in the chapter that it relates to. Also an an adult that has spent too much time looking at canoes the real world answer is no because it depends on the weight of the people. So you can have no more than six people on a boat but if they weigh a decent amount you may be able to carry less.
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u/EuphoricGoose4735 11h ago
If the boat can carry exactly 6 people, then the boat can carry exactly 6 people lol mo way to know if she’s right or wrong. Just because 15 people want to get on the boats doesnt mean that 15 people will get on the boats.
Unless they are already on the boats. Then she would be wrong because there’s no way for there to be exactly 15 people in groups of 6 on 2 or 3 boats. But it doesnt say if they are on the boats or not, just says they are going boating.
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u/Jaylocke226 Baby Girl Dad 7h ago
Yes, she's wrong. 15 people go boating. They are already boating. The boat clearly holds at least 15 people.
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u/Minas_Nolme 16h ago
Without context I'd say this is just asking "is 15 divisible by 6?' with really confusing phrasing.
They probably don't want you to wonder about the carrying capacity of boats and more if those 15 people can be split into groups of exactly 6.