50% of Harvard Students Get This Simple Question Wrong
This is the first question that appears on the cognitive reflection test at Harvard university
A bat and a ball costs $1.10.
The bat costs $1 more than the ball.
How much does the ball cost?
Comment below what you think the answer is and I will tell you if you are correct.
No cheating please. You're only cheating yourself if you do.
The answer is unknown unless you are provided with what the sales tax is for the area in which the transaction is involved. The cost of an item includes the tax charged for taking the item into your possession. For example, if the sales tax rate is 10% and the ball is included for free if you buy the bat then the cost of the ball is actually zero dollars.
0.05
It should be 0.05
0.05 ball hundred cents expensive than ball
1.05 bat
Total 1.10
Correct, if it is a duty free transaction in an airport. But this was not implied by the question. The sales tax and/or vat tax must be known before the question can be correctly answered. The cost of an item includes the total amount of money needed to take the item into your possession. How many places are sales conducted in a tax-free manner? Basically none, except duty free purchases (where I can assure you no bats and balls are available) and maybe the British territory of Gibraltar (where I can assure you that everyone actually buys their sports equipment from nearby Spain) so does everyone agree that there is a profound error in the way the question was posed?
um.. Oregon? There are many places where things are bought without sales tax, or where posted prices must include VAT. In Sweden, if the price says 5kr, you can pay with a 5kr coin.
Also,in practice, garage sales, craigslist, flea markets all do not collect tax. In my experience many developing countries do not collect tax at point of sale.
Thank you for the info! Wow, Alaska, Delaware, Montana, and New Hampshire also do not charge sales tax. It's time for me to move. :-)
Upvoted and RESTEEMED :)
Thank you :)
This hurt my head so I did cheat :)
Correct answer is 5 cents. When I do it in my head I want to think 10 but when you write in down its cleary 5.
x + (1 + x) = 1.1
2x + 1 = 1.1
2x = 0.1
x= 0.05 or 5 cents
Yes it is difficult to picture it at first. I had to write it down too.
$0.05
We need to test all elected politicians with these type of questions. I think the ratio would much less than the 50% that the Harvard students that got it right. People who cannot do simple math should not be running this world.
It should be 0.10c
No
Nice one !