Primary school questions so difficult you will question your own intelligence

If you have been on any form of social media lately, you would have heard about the (in)famous unscramble-the-letters question from Maris Stella High School (Primary).

While at first glance the most obvious and logical solution would be "excited", the letter choices that are given to students are not able to form that word.

Oh, did I mention that the question is for Primary 1 students?

So what is the solution? Netizens have offered their own thoughts on what could be the potential answer.

The answer is nothing as exciting as those above, unfortunately. 

The principal of Maris Stella told Mothership that "the original question had been altogether different, and the school had forgotten to amend the letters in the boxes in the process of changing it."

The correct answer is excited", as predicted by many.

This was not the first time that a primary school exam question became viral on the internet.

Below is a list of other (in)famous school questions that got us stumped.

You might wonder how one survived primary school back then.

1. Cheryl's birthday

Roughly two years ago, Singaporeans were taken by surprise when Cheryl gave two boys a difficult riddle to solve when asked about her birthday.

Who is this Cheryl?

A made-up character in this mind-boogling question intended for Primary 5 students.

Netizens were not able to guess her birthday and instead launched an attack on Cheryl's character.

What is the solution then?

According to The Straits Times, the answer is July 16.

And oh, it is not actually meant for Primary 5 students.

Mr Henry Ong, founder of Singapore and Asian Schools Math Olympiads, told The Straits Times that  it was meant for Secondary 3 students who took part in the Math Olympiad that year.

This question got so famous that it was covered by The Guardian, amongst many others foreign publications.

Heck, even CNN has a video explaining the solution.

For me, if you were to hide your birthday date behind a series of convoluting hints, rest assured that you can forget about me remembering the date.

2. Weight of coins

Do you often bring a weighing scale to examination halls for your maths exam?

If not, then you can forget about answering this next one.

 How heavy are eight $1 Singapore coins? Six grams, 60g, 600g or 6kg?

That was the question that appeared in the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) mathematics paper on 2015.

Right off the bat, you can eliminate 6kg and 6g.

But between 61g and 600g? Those sound kinda close.

Naturally, some parents get upset because they feel that the students are tested unfairly.

A Facebook user by the name of Gordon Lim came forward with his opinions on the matter.

I chose 600g when I first saw this question.

I lack common sense after all.

3. The bonus question

It is an understanding that a bonus question, intended for extra marks, will naturally be harder.

But this next one takes the cake.

According to The Straits Times,  the question first appeared on forums and quickly went viral.

It did not say where the question came from though, only claiming that it is purportedly for Primary 1 students.

Kids sure have it tough these days.

A similar puzzle had been found on this blog, accompanied by a solution.

So education is getting more and more difficult, that is not surprising. My only worry is that one day I will not be able to help my children with their homework, and they will began questioning my intelligence as an adult.

Lordy.

akosasi@sph.com.sg