I saw a shirt for $97. I borrowed $50 from my mom and $50 from my dad. I bought the shirt with $3 of change. I gave $1 to mom, $1 to dad, and kept $1 for myself. Now I owe my mom $49 and my dad $49. $49+$49=$98+my $1=$99. Where did the other $1 go?
One of the main goals in math is to help students develop an ability to problem solve and apply this skill to real life situations. Like in any real life situation, we are required to examine the problem and identify the root or the cause of it. By doing this, it allows us to develop and execute a plan to solve the problem. This specific tricky math problem demonstrates that without closely examining the given numbers, it is easy to jump to conclusions about what is happening. When you take the time to understand, this problem is actually very simple.