“5 x 8 is wrong, because its 8 x 5”: Singaporean shares “mistake” corrected in nephew’s workbook

SINGAPORE: Singaporeans were confused by a “mistake” in a schoolboy’s workbook, recently shared by a netizen. A math problem, 5 x 8, was marked as wrong, while the supposed correct answer was 8 x 5. While the photo got a laugh out of many Singaporeans, it also pushed many to try and solve the problem themselves.

Math is all fun and games…until you just don’t get it. After a photo of a corrected math problem was shared with an online news forum, many netizens took to the comments section to share a laugh and even try to make sense of the problem.

“5 x 8 is wrong, because it’s 8 x 5,” read the title of the photo, which was uploaded to an online news forum by a netizen on Tuesday (May 9). “Found this ‘mistake’ on my nephew’s workbook. I get the lack of measurement unit (kg) but what’s up with the 8×5 and 5×8 being wrong?” the caption read.

In response to the post, many netizens took to the comments section to try and make sense of everything.

“Highly likely that teacher was marking in autopilot mode,” said one. “Too many worksheets already, it sometimes just becomes a blur and you don’t really see what you’re marking, because you need to clear them FAST. If your nephew checks with the teacher, he/she may edit the marking. I won’t be too quick to judge it as inflexibility.”

The netizen who created the thread responded to this comment, saying, “Totally understandable, it’s just homework so I don’t think it matters just found it kinda funny and wanted to share.”

Image: Reddit Singapore screengrab / @Lhxlhx

Some netizens speculated that the teacher understandably had too much on her plate and therefore got things mixed up.

However, many others explained that the student’s original answer was “conceptually wrong.”

One netizen explained, “Teacher is right for p3 concepts. The correct order is 8 x 5kg = 40kg. Because the units (for p3 level) used for calculation are put at the back (on the right), so it makes a sensible mathematical sentence. You need 8 bags of 5 kg rice, not 5kg for 8 bags.

Later on in life the teacher will teach the properties of multiplication. But in order to make the sensible correct sentence, it has to be strict on the first time to make it easier to grasp.”