Adults stumped by 'strange' Year 11 GCSE maths question they can't figure out

Are you smarter than a GCSE student?

Many adults have been debating whether or not they could beat Year 11s at exams – after a "strange" maths question went viral.

PLS Tutors took to TikTok to post about a problem that's left students scratching their heads. In a recent video, they asked: “The bearing of A from B is 098°. Find the bearing of B from A.”

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So what is a reciprocal bearing, also known as back bearing? It is a navigation term used to describe the direction that is exactly opposite to a given bearing. If you know the bearing from one point to another, the reciprocal bearing is simply the angle that points directly back to the starting point.

The tutor breaks down the question, by adding: “This is one of the strangest questions on a GCSE maths paper and you definitely need it to get grades like this (78/80)”.

They then explained how to find the answer by drawing out angles and connecting them. If you worked out the answer as 278, you'd be correct.

People flocked to the comments section to share their thoughts. Some remained baffled, even after watching the video breakdown. One person simply said: “Straight over my head.”

Another pondered the purpose of such exam questions with: “Why do we have maths questions like this when they don’t serve any purpose in life”. A third quipped: “Do you know what a mortgage rate is? No, but I know the bearing of point B to A if the bearing of A to B is 98°”.

Others were grateful for the video and now felt as though they understood the correct way to approach such a question. One person said: “You made it so easy, can I re-sit and get a 9?”

Another said: “Wow. I was terrible at maths, only took a basic arithmetic O level. But I understood this completely!” Agreeing, another commented: “This made sense ...why did I not get taught this way some 30 odd years ago…”

So did you figure it out? Let us know in the comments section below.