Parents left confused by 14-year-old's maths homework that 'makes no sense'

Frustration is mounting as a children's homework question appears to be baffling not just kids, but their parents too.

A puzzled social media user turned to Reddit for a lifeline, admitting they're utterly "stumped" by the seemingly nonsensical maths problem.

The tormented helper said: "This is a friend's daughter's ninth-grade math homework. I've spent way too much time on this and I am getting nowhere. I would post my work, but at this point, it's just a bunch of convoluted nonsense. I keep coming back to the same overcomplicated equations for each variable, so if I'm wrong at least it's uniform.

"I know this is a system of equations, I'm a sophomore towards an electrical engineering degree, but for the life of me, I can't figure this out."

The offending homework sheet, dubiously titled 'Back to school equations', has left many scratching their heads as it prompts students to calculate the value of various school supplies based on limited information.

Unsurprisingly, the perplexing question sparked quite the debate online, with one disgruntled user remarking: "This is horribly written because it suggests that we are supposed to treat the two markers together as different from 2 * a single marker."

Another user echoed these sentiments, chiming in with an exasperated: "Yeah, that's pretty tedious."

Even more feedback followed, with one user bemoaning: "Who is using cutesy pictures for 9th grade algebra? The problem is much more clear when presented as a system of equations. Which doing more than 2 variables is tricky enough without needing to translate pictures. Especially the unclear 2 markers! Geez."

Another user chimed in with a solution, saying: "Let's make everything variables for simplicity: x + yx = 40. 2z + zx = 48. y + 3z = 33. So y = 33 - 3z, and replacing y in the first equation we get x + x (33-3z) = 40 -> 34x - 3zx = 40. Solving for z gives us z = (34/3) - 40/(3x).

"We can then input that into the second equation, and it's a pain to solve but gives us x = 4. From there, we have that 4 + 4y = 40 -> 4y = 36 -> y = 9. From there, we have that 9 + 3z = 33 -> 3z = 24 -> z = 8. Therefore x = 4, y = 9, and z = 8, and z + y * x = 44."