Mum baffled by question in 7-year-old son's maths homework

Can you solve this tricky maths question? Photo / 123rf

A mother has turned to social media asking for help with her 7-year-old son's math homeworld after it left her completly "baffled".

It also stumped another parent with a maths PhD

The Sun reports the mum said "the homework has never been that hard before, which is why she turned to the internet for help".

A mum asked for help online after her son's homework baffled her. Photo / Facebook

Teresa Hopper shared the question to Facebook group Family Lockdown Tips and Tricks.

She posted a photo of the math question alongside a comment "I hate homework. Please help!".

"Is the answer to a) & b) the same or am I missing something?!"

The tricky question is as follows: "Karla says: 'I have three hundreds counters, 17 tens counters and 16 ones counters.'

"a) Can she make two equal three-digit numbers? If so, draw the counters to show them.

"b) Can she make two equal three-digit numbers if she had to use all her counters? If so, draw the counters to show them."

Although it may seem straight forward, many claimed they struggled to answer the young boy's homework.

Some other parents helped by sharing their answers. Photo / Facebook

"Clearly not for a 40-year-old woman ... I'm lost," one commenter wrote.

Another said, "I have a PhD in maths, and I have no idea what this question is asking. Unless there's a diagram to go with it, or more explanation somewhere else."

Someone else asked, "How old is this homework meant for?"

"I'm 45 and I can't work it out lol," another added.

Hopper confirmed to Fabulous Digital they got it right in the end, sharing a snap of the answer, which she wrote as 172 for a, and 243 for b.