It was belt grading day at the dojo, and the hall buzzed with excitement. Jackson straightened his belt, Fernando checked the clip on the badge box, Oliver lined up the certificate folders, and Rosie practised her bow one last time.
Sensei asked Fernando to prepare reward packs for the three groups being assessed today. There were 64 students in the beginners’ group, and 58 in the intermediate group. The advanced group had some students away, but the total number of students across all three groups was 190.
Each beginner would receive 1 badge, each intermediate student would receive 2 badges, and each advanced student would receive 3 badges. Fernando wanted to count the badges before the first name was called.
Jackson said, “If we work out how many students are in the advanced group, we can work out the badge total.”
Rosie nodded. “And if we know the badges, Oliver can pack the right number of certificate folders too.”
Fernando smiled, lifted the lid of the badge box, and asked everyone to confirm the final numbers before the grading began.
How many students are in the advanced group? How many badges are needed in total? How many badges will the intermediate group receive?
Use this box for your working out / notes:
Short Story – Hard
Hard puzzles often include a “misdirection”: a detail that adds flavour but isn’t needed for the maths.
How to handle it:
Check: when you’re done, re-read the full story and confirm every maths-relevant sentence is satisfied.
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