THE HARDEST GCSE MATHS QUESTION EVER?! (0.2% of students got it right)

Can this really be the most difficult GCSE maths question ever?
Only 1 in 500 students got full marks on this question, which is from the old Edexcel GCSE Maths syllabus (don't worry, it's the same maths that you need for your GCSE!)
Give it a go and let me know how you did!
Smash out questions like this in your sleep: aitutor.co.uk

[@xyz.5512]

As an alevels A2 student taking maths, I look back at time and realise how younger students are lacking in concepts a lot more 😅😅😅 these questions are incredibly easy idk how only 1 in 500 got these correct 😢

[@Dylan-oq8xb]

As an A level student studying further maths I’m glad I found this easy otherwise that would’ve been embarrassing for me 😂

[@Dylan-oq8xb]

@@abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz937 bro got jealous

[@abortive1581]

Very smart individuals as a year 8 I would have no idea how to approach this question

[@abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz937]

@@Dylan-oq8xb qpelfospqpwlsospqwkeksoqpekfkfosowkeejsiq9wkrkffidiwoekrjgowpwlerfis9qlrfkziaoqpwkefjdisowpwkekekes0wlekrfksoqpwmejdisowlwmektoddodneiqpwldg

[@jennie08._]

@@abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz937 LMFAOO SAME, LIKE GCSES BE SO FRICKING EASY ITS UNFAIR FOR US IGCSE STUDENTS

[@abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz937]

@@jennie08._ ikr, for the record i do international a levels now 😭

[@rezajr69]

I am surprised that 0.2% of people were able to answer that. I guess the time limit played a big role in it.

[@TbspOfRice]

lmao i looked at the questions and didnt even try💀

[@shuncho7844]

the question werent hard

[@darkrebel5520]

Surely you could also use the idea for question c on the last one that EVEN + EVEN + ODD = ODD yet 2c is n even so not all the numbers can be integers?

[@725Chrisj]

I would have thought this is the answer they’d look for in the mark scheme as it relates to the proofs that were being covered in the curriculum.

[@Emailminecraft]

YES I DID THIS :D

[@pressurequalstoforce]

i love how you talk us through in such a lighthearted funny manner, it actually made me laugh and approach this question in a sensible and calm way, this is probably my first time laughing during a maths video 😭

[@um4ry]

What a surprise to know that the hardest question in GCSE maths involves me thinking (a+1)^2 = a^2 + 1

[@AITutor]

Classic ey?!

[@abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz937]

gcse is so free

[@phoona7798]

actually enjoyed this video im not gonna lie. Definetly going to be tuning in more to this channel as i dropped you a sub :)

[@fis1ks752]

I got an A* in A-level maths and I won't lie part c took me some thinking. I completely forgot about my answer to part b being relevant, once I remembered to look at that I got it instantly, but I think only because I trained the relevant skill in year 13 studying proof by contradiction. I don't think year 11 me would have stood much chance lol

[@AITutor]

Not sure year 11 me would have either! 😂

[@setantamcstravick4286]

very impressive can’t lie

[@realmtraveller]

Should see the maths question given I edexcel 2022, I'm a uni student doing physics and struggled with it

[@justmeditate98yearsagoedit23]

question with the three circles? please...it was not that hard especially doing it out of exam conditions and with unlimited time. I agree it was a semi difficult questions under the pressure and time constraint of the exam but i think people are being a bit too dramatic. it was designed for capable students and many people i know managed to do it

[@realmtraveller]

@@justmeditate98yearsagoedit23 yes not hard when out of exam conditions, attempt to do it with exam conditions. Even my coursemates struggled and we are all good at mathematics

[@Incognito_ST]

@@justmeditate98yearsagoedit23 stfu we are gcse students not a level students. None in our entire school got that question right, our teachers got confused looking at that question. Our school is top 10% in the country aswell. It was also the last question meaning everyone averaged around 7 minutes to do that question.

[@namansinghvig4175]

It was easy because 2a + 2b + 1 = 2c divide by 2 you get a + b + 0.5 = c if a and b are integers adding 0.5 makes c an non integer

[@emadislam9590]

Just subscribed, really enjoyed this video, you explained all the steps so well, thank you! Just wondering what are you using to write your solutions? Like what hardware/software are you using?

[@baldy7858]

edexcel maths laughing at this video now

[@FlyingPhysicist]

While this seems trivial to anyone having studied a STEM subject at university level, I recall taking my own GCSEs and A-levels back in ~2005 and the one culprit for the 0.2% full-marks figure that springs to mind is that exam boards were trying to combat grade inflation at that time by insisting that a mark could only be gained for a very specifically-worded statement, whether the student communicated the essential idea or not. It seemed unfair at the time and it might explain this.

[@jamie_robertson3114]

Paper 1 june 2017 last question is really tough my teacher had marked 4000 exams that year and he said roughly about 4-5 ppl got it right

[@ddiisskkss3793]

If it’s the one about vectors I just got it right doing it in my head

[@jamie_robertson3114]

@@ddiisskkss3793 nah it's like an algebraic trig question

[@ddiisskkss3793]

@@jamie_robertson3114 which exam board

[@jamie_robertson3114]

@@ddiisskkss3793 Edexcel 2017 June paper 1

[@marib5440]

this years paper 1 final question was imposible

[@sotonkst]

Are there any values of a,b,c that give the triangles in the diagram? We require a,b,c > 0, a< c, b c. Now a+ b = c - 1/2 > c impossible!

[@alexkuiper1096]

Yes - agreed - which makes parts (b) and (c) of the question meaningless.

[@ecg865]

Can you link this paper and the mark scheme? I'd really like to have a go at some of these questions.

[@asdasdasda5857]

did u find it?

[@khanali4230]

please can you upload 2020 and 2021 papers as exams are coming up, really need it THANKS

[@someone...000]

For the last question, there's also another way of looking at it. 2a + 2b + 1 = 2c. So 2(a+b) + 1 = 2c. So say a+b was an integer, and we assume that a and b are also integers individually, then we're saying that 2(a+b) can be any even integer, as a+b which is an integer, has been timesed by 2, so thus is an even integer. Now any even integer + 1 is odd. That's very basic maths. However, 2c also has to be even, and assuming c is an integer, 2c is an even integer, because again anything timesed by 2 is even. But the LHS is odd for any integer value of a and b, and the RHS is even for any integer value of c, but how can a odd number be even at the same time. So therefore, if all a, b and c held any integer value, then the statement would not hold true thus proving that a, b and c cant simultaneously be integers, as part of the equation given. Just thought id put it out as this method doesnt require any rearranging, and in the exam im sure most people would be able to word the above perhaps more succinctly, so i thought it was an easier way to look at the question and just an alternative approach for anyone that is curious.

[@themanwithaplan.3494]

nice! mainly obvious stuff ig ppl could miss .

[@user-rr4rw1wp4m]

Counterexample would be quicker for the first part wouldn’t it? For example, substitute a in as 2, so the LHS =9 but RHS = 5.

[@nark4837]

I'll be honest - I am surprised I got predicted such a low GCSE grade for maths (I was COVID year) after reminiscing today and checking the grade boundaries, it was literally 64% for an 8, and if I recall correctly I got "given" a 6 on my GCSEs 😂then in my official A-Levels I got 4 A*s, and am now doing CS achieving a 92.4% grade average after 1st and 2nd year! After doing this question with no sweat, it solidified the fact that I should have not got a 6!😅 My GCSE grades were quite poor, 1x8, 3x7, 2x6, 2x5 and 1x4 - I didn't get a single 9, even in CS after averaging 95%+, honestly after receiving those grades that was a tough time, then my A-Level predicted grades didn't go as planned either, I got predicted A*ABB, but actually got A*A*A*A*, it is honestly incredible how some schools underpredict so much, but other schools overpredict, I would have thought the incentive would be to overpredict for a better reputation for getting your students into more prestigious universities.

[@EPICGamerEGBros]

I sat my paper one for edexcel I think there’s a question on there that belongs on that document

[@alilakhany5355]

for part c can you say that not all combinations of three numbers are pythagorean triples?

[@terryboland3816]

That wouldn't explain why they can't be in this example.

[@thomaswebster964]

You use part b. 2a+2b is even. So 2a+2b+1 must be odd. If 2c is odd then c cannot be an integer.

[@frozhq5899]

a bit scared they're gonna put a few of these questions in the 2023 papers lol

[@wqltr1822]

Yo dude i figured out myself! Lesgo

[@Rebounds88]

I did the part (c) of the last question a different way -> 2a+2b+1 = 2c or, 2a + 2b - 2c = -1 or, 2(a+b-c) = -1 or, a+b-c = -1/2 Conclusion: sum of integers only cannot be resulting in a fraction. If a,b and c are all integers it is then only possible to get an integer and not -1/2 which is a fraction.

[@yoyoyo-hw2lc]

NGL i had to sit there for like 20 mins to get part B, I was thinking of using the cosine rule but that cant be worth 3 marks.

[@yoyoyo-hw2lc]

Not even done my GCSEs btw :)

[@xinpingdonohoe3978]

It is the cosine rule when cos(A) = 0, happening at 90° or π/2 r

[@johndavies8966]

Can you send this document

[@anushaperera2081]

You guys are doing Edexcel?

[@ilham8098]

pdf ?

[@sidthegreat7635]

we can also say that (2a + 2b + 1) would always be odd if a and b are integers. This is equal to 2c and 2c will always be even if c is a integer. So here lhs is not equal to rhs if a,b,c are integers. So a , b and c are not integers

[@pythonian9977]

Let’s go I got both of them right

[@tanay5184]

✏️

[@Utube_shorts24]

These are too easy questions, i can solve all of these. it's just only based on basic concepts as a Indian we do practice from book RD sharma in this book there are too many hard questions you should try of class 10

[@sameyarahman5565]

How is that hard I mean that's our basic question that comes in exams ..... ur polly a sat student

[@vanci2039]

That hard ???

[@Sub-Zero_Scorpion]

Two trains, Train A and Train B, simultaneously depart Station A and Station B. Station A and Station B are 252.5 miles apart from each other. Train A is moving at 124.7mph towards Station B, and Train B is moving at 253.5mph towards station A. If both trains departed at 10:00AM and it is now 10:08, how much longer until both trains pass each other?

[@pranamedhi]

40 minutes and 4 seconds in total. 32 minutes and 4 seconds after 10:08am

[@aidenwhelan3973]

I can’t stand Pythagoras theorem me

[@justchillin9189]

Linkkk

[@aamirsaifee3217]

Mate our test papers in the 8th grade used to be harder than that 💀

[@nightkilling2209]

because you're from india and they turn you into rice if you don't study for 13 hours a day

[@justchillin9189]

Give me the lino

[@tanjo4]

Maths exams aren't even a measure of ability, but rather luck (+ practice) in spotting a path which leads to an answer 🫠