Can you answer the hardest question from the GCSE maths exam?

9 June 2014

1 minute read

Can you answer the hardest question from the GCSE maths exam?

Today was the GCSE maths exam today. If you're not based in the UK, GCSEs are the exams taken by students aged 15-16. Only if you complete your GCSEs can you go on to A Levels. If you can't get an A in GCSE maths, you will probably never be an investment banker.

The exam was allegedly difficult. And this was allegedly the hardest question. Can you answer it? Can you answer it in two minutes maximum? Answers, and workings, in the comments box at the bottom of the page please.

'Tom travels from a to b and at a speed of 90km per hour. It takes him time 't'. Alice travels from a to b at a speed of 70km per hour. It takes her time 't+ 1 hour'.

How long did it take for Tom to complete his journey?'

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AUTHORSarah Butcher

Global Editor

Ma
Mark Ng
23 April 2019
Are you sure this is hard?
As distance = speed * distance, and the distance traveled by the two people are the same:
90t = 70(t+1)
90t = 70t + 70
20t = 70
t = 3.5 (hours, presumably)
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As
Ashain Gunasekara
10 March 2019
It was actually easy...I am also a GCSE student:
Distance=Speed x Time
Sine both travelled from A to B... the distance travelled by Tom and Alice are equal
so: S X T = S X T
90 X t = 70 X ( t+1)
90t = 70t+70
90t-70t = 70
20t = 70
t = 70/20
t = 3.5 hours
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mi
mikey
20 March 2018
hi, I just had a go at this question and I found out that the answer is 3.5 as Alice took (t + 1) hour and Tom took t hours all you had to do was skim the takes and get the important numbers you need for the sum which were 70 and 20. to work out how long t was all you had to do was figure out how to get to 70 from 20 which gives you the answer of 3.5 thus t equals
3.5
and I'm not even doing my gcse yet
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Ye
Year 10 GCSE Student Of 2018
16 March 2018
I'm a GCSE Student and found this no way near difficult.
Tom
S1 = 90km/h
T1 = ?
D1 = 90 * T1
Alice
S2 = 70km/h
T2 = T1 + 1
D2 = 70(T1 + 1) = 70T1 + 70
If they take the same route then D1 = D2 Lets assume x = T1 Now
90x = 70x + 70
20x = 70
x = 70/20 = 7/2 = 3.5
x is hours as its km/h
3.5 hours = 3 hours 30 minutes :)
For all you guys who said 3.5 hours OR 3 hours 30 mins, You're correct.
1 reply
Ch
Chloe
13 November 2016
t=3.5 hrs. This comes no where near the hardest GCSE questions in England. And if you compare this level of 'difficulty' to the new 9-1 specification, this would be the easiest question on the exam paper.
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