to wonder what this question is asking

[minimomtogiants]

What fraction of boys like football more than girls?

20 out of 50 boys liked football but only 10 out of 30 girls so that's 2/5ths of boys and 1/3rd of girls.

I'm not sure what they are asking, neither was DD I think as she's left the question out when I just checked her homework was done.

It's a very poorly-worded question that could mean several different things. Clearly whoever wrote it is better at maths than they are at English.

Is it 1/2? 2/5-1/3=1/2...

I could be totally wrong though!

I think it's asking for the difference between the 2 fractions, so you'd have to convert them both into something with a common denominator. So 2/5 and 1/3 = 6/15 and 5/15 so take one from the other and 1/15 more boys than girls like football.

(I'm sure a maths expert may tell me I'm wrong but that's what I would have said)

Is it 1/15 - you need to make the denominator the same so you can compare them?

Disclaimer - I'm crap at maths!

I thought it was badly worded too - surely if the boys prefer football than girls depends on the age of the boys!

The number of girls who like football is half that of the boys, yes.

Well, you'd really need to ask the boys whether they'd rather play/watch football or spend time with girls! Of course it's possible they could do both at once...

Seriously, though, when mathematicians set questions they need to run the wording past someone whose English is good.

Don't worry, just report that the question wasn't worded clearly enough. Someone needs to sharpen their act!

The question is rubbish, but I agree with others. I think it’s asking for the difference between 2/5 and 1/3.

2/5 = 6/15 (multiply each bit by 3)
1/3 = 5/15 (multiply each bit by 5)
That way you have both fractions as 15ths and you can add or subtract them easily.
So 1/15 (6/15 - 5/15) more boys like football than girls like football.
You can’t cancel 1/15 down any further so the answer is 1/15th

Sorry, cross posted with rainbow who got there first.

I was so wrong 🙈

You actually can't answer that question from the information given, since they have only asked 'who likes football?' not 'on a scale of 1 to 10 how much do you like football?' or 'do you prefer football or girls?'

1/15 is correct.
The question is unambiguous.

@minimomtogiants

"The number of girls who like football is half that of the boys, yes."
Er, no. Unless you are joking don't try helping your child with their homework until you've done a refresher course.

On reflection the question is badly worded and is ambiguous. It is obviously asking you to express as a fraction how many more boys than girls like football. I've been trying to think of exactly how the question should have been worded though and am a bit stumped. (A bit like whoever set the question).

I would go for 1/15th too. What is the context of the rest of the homework, are they practising comparing fractions? I can't imagine what else they could be asking here but it's a terribly worded question.

Idontwanttotalk, that question is indeed ambiguous because of the elision. It can be read two ways:

What fraction of boys like football more than (they like) girls?

What fraction of boys like football more than girls (do)?

It depends which verb has been elided.

The data offers a clear hint, true, but if the purpose of the question is to set a mathematical task, the wording should not set the extra, initial hurdle of a grammatical task.

I doubt the question setter intended to introduce the ambiguity, hence my suggestion that they ought to submit their work to a competent editor.

@idontwanttotalk

"The number of girls who like football is half that of the boys, yes."
Er, no. shock Unless you are joking don't try helping your child with their homework until you've done a refresher course. grin'

Yes it is -20 boys liked football, 10 girls did. 10 is half of 20.

Nice bit of sex stereotyping thrown in for good measure.

It’s 1/15. It’s ambiguous, but the alternative interpretation would be noticeably odd