On the face of it, it is a rather straightforward question.
But a maths question for children about time that was posted on social media has gone viral, racking up 1.4 million views after leaving people vacillating between more than one seemingly valid answer.
The problem was posted on Twitter by user @yawdmontweet from Jamaica, who said the question “hurt his head”.
The question was: “What is the closest time to midnight?”
The following answer options were provided – A: 11.55 am, B: 12.06 am, C: 11.50 am and D: 12.03 am.
Social media users appeared to have been thrown off by the question and commented with different answers.
Many thought the answer was D because it is only three minutes away from midnight.
But others countered that 12.03 am is the closest after midnight, not to midnight because time moves forward.
Going by that logic, the answer should be A., they said that 11.55 am is 12 hours and 5 minutes to midnight. 12.03 am would be 23 hours and 57 minutes to midnight, and thus the furthest.
Many Twitter users disagreed, arguing that the question relates to proximity, not chronology.
Some respondents said the question was confusing because of how it was worded. There was no indication of “which midnight” the question was referring to.
For one person, the solution was simple: Ask the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT, which said D was the right answer.
Some commenters suggested the question might have multiple correct answers, depending on interpretation. This sparked frustration and highlighted potential difficulties for young learners.
As discussions continue, the question remains: Which option would you choose, and can there be multiple correct answers based on different interpretations?
