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Andrew Badsley & Beth Robson

The 'impossible' question on GCSE exam paper that had 16-year-olds baffled

Maths students across the country were left puzzled over an 'impossible' question on their GCSE papers.

One parent, whose child sat the Edexcel exam, told the Manchester Evening News that even some teachers at their child's school struggled to come up with the solution to the task. A University of Manchester maths student even admitted he found it 'tough'.

Candidates were asked to work out the area of the shaded part of some circles, if all the circles have a radius of four. "A tough one, even I had to spend some time looking where to start," Manchester university student Harry Surplus tweeted.

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"Sorry #EdexcelMaths but what was that last question," one student tweeted. Another said they spent '20 mins... just staring at the last question'.

Maths teacher Jonathan Baker also took to Twitter to offer the correct method of answering the question.

As well as leaving many teenagers nonplussed, the conundrum is sure to leave many in a cold sweat as they have flashbacks to their own maths exams. Edexcel have been approached for comment.

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