Reminds me of middle school. I can't remember the exact question, but it had something to do with gravity, earth, moon. Actually, I think it had something to do with weight/mass question. Anyways, science teacher gave the wrong answer. I insisted that my answer was correct. I actually had to go talk to another teacher about it to get confirmation. Eventually about 2 days later, the science teacher admitted that she was wrong and will not take off points from anyone.
Your algebra is correct but you are not solving for pieces you are solving for time to make two cuts. 1X=10 X=10 2(10)=X X=20
true the problem is worded badly but if you knew what the test was covering, and it seems to be basic Algebra, then you should have solved it accordingly instead of using logic. thus, your answer is wrong (for this particular test). sorry.
The math is correct but not for this problem. You can't separate a board by cutting only halfway. The correct equation is x+1=y where x is the number of cuts and can only be an integer.
I think if it would have been straight forward if the problem statement said to cut a 2x4 rectangle in to three equally sized pieces.
Why would you assume that algebra means you have to get basic aspects of the problem wrong? You can solve the problem algebraically without getting the wrong answer. Let p equal the number of pieces. It takes one cut to form two pieces. If it takes 10 minutes to cut a board a into two pieces, how long will it take to cut a board into three pieces? 10(p-1)=x 10(2-1)=10 10(3-1)=20
Obviously 20 is not the answer the teacher was looking for. therefore, you are using the wrong equation. The answer the teacher was looking for was 15. btw, you never showed your work. Maybe if you did, you could argue partial credit. It would be funny if this was an LSAT question.
The teacher was looking for the wrong answer because the test was formulated without thinking about the actual variables used. That's her fault (or whoever wrote the test.) They didn't actually look at the problem after they wrote it. Again, their fault. That the only justification to try to get to 15 as the answer is "Well that's what the teacher wanted to be the answer..." is telling.
The problem here is that the question does not require an equation to answer correctly. 1 cut 10 minutes same rate 2 cuts 20 minutes Dumb question, teacher always agrees with the manual.
The problem was marked wrong and I'm guessing he already checked to see if the teacher made a mistake. If all of that is true then it is a badly worded problem whose answer happens to be contrary to logic. sh!+ happens. If the teacher is looking for a certain answer on a test then your job is to arrive at that answer in order to get the grade. Studying for a test means not only reviewing the material but also knowing what kind of results your teacher might be expecting. Kind of like arguing with your boss about your work results. If your boss wanted something different from what you produced then you need to figure out what it was exactly they wanted you to do and do it their way. unless you want to get fired.
What a stupid post. Really stupid. "The teacher wants a specific answer and it's your job to know that answer regardless of the question." 2+2=? You better ask yourself what the teacher wants because 4 isn't necessarily the answer!
