Get the best experience in our app Enjoy offline reading, category favourites, and instant updates - right from your pocket. Download the App Maybe later Home Archived 5 worst maths howlers Back 5 worst maths howlers 4th September 2009, 1:00am Meabh Ritchie Share 5 worst maths howlers https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/5-worst-maths-howlers Copy Link Q: A car company is having a sale. A pound;25,000 car now has 50 per cent off. What is the new price? A: Still too expensiveQ: What is conditional probability? A: Maybe, maybe notQ: What is a random variable? A: Someone with multiple personalitiesQ: Change 78 to a decimal A: 7.8Q: Write two hundred thousand in figures A: Two hundred thousand in figuresTaken from F in Exams: The Best Test Paper Blunders, published by Summersdale (www.summersdale.com)E-mail meabh.ritchie@tes.co.uk with suggestions for this column. Want to keep reading for free? Register with Tes and you can read five free articles every month, plus you'll have access to our range of award-winning newsletters. Register Log in Register with Tes and you can read five free articles every month, plus you'll have access to our range of award-winning newsletters. More information Keep reading for just £4.90 per month /per month for 12 months You've reached your limit of free articles this month. Subscribe for £4.90 per month for three months and get: Unlimited access to all Tes magazine content Exclusive subscriber-only stories Award-winning email newsletters Subscribe now You've reached your limit of free articles this month. Subscribe for £4.90 per month for three months and get: Unlimited access to all Tes magazine content Exclusive subscriber-only stories Award-winning email newsletters More information Read more My best teacher: Miss McMahan by Dolly Parton Meabh Ritchie • 9th May 2018 A bridge across the River Foyle Meabh Ritchie • 23rd December 2011 Silly season Meabh Ritchie • 29th July 2011 A bridge across the River Foyle Meabh Ritchie • 8th July 2011 Recent Most read Most shared How to get early years specialist provision right Teaching & Learning 5 March 2026 Why making maths ‘more relevant’ misses the point Analysis 5 March 2026 School support staff leaving in record numbers News 5 March 2026 The SEND reforms are out - now the real tests begin Analysis 25 February 2026 Do banded books make for poorer readers? Teaching & Learning 25 February 2026 3 in 5 people see teaching as ‘unappealing’ News 25 February 2026 Uta Frith: why I no longer think autism is a spectrum Teaching & Learning 4 March 2026 No need for GCSE students to memorise equations until 2030 News 2 March 2026 2.7% teacher pay rise affordable over next two years, says DfE News 3 March 2026
