Quiz

BuzzFeed Staff

Rewind

Let's just say math wasn't less confusing back then.

Use A Calculator, I Don't Care, Just Try To Get 16/20 On This Math Test From 1893

1800s Middle School Math Quiz

IDC, Use A Calculator, Just Try To Get 16/20 On This Math Test From 1893

"How many birds are resting on these wires?"

"If a horse ate 8/9 of a bushel of oats in 4 days, how much did he eat each day? How much is 8/9 ÷ 4?"

"Howard wrote 38 lines of German on Monday, 27 on Tuesday, 15 on Wednesday, 17 on Thursday, and 26 on Friday. How many lines did he write during the week?"

"Otto sold 6 quarts of berries at 6 cents a quart, and spent the money for 9 bananas. How much did he pay apiece for the bananas?"

"A man sold a cow for $40 and spent 1/5 of the sum. Afterwards he bought a horse and paid in cash what he had left from the sale of the cow. What did the horse cost him, if the cash payment was 1/5 of the cost of the horse?"

"How many frogs are there in the pond?"

"If I buy 8 boxes of starch, each box containing 24 pounds, at 8 cents a pound, and offer in payment a $20 bill, what change shall I receive?"

"During the Civil War, a dollar bill was, at one time, worth only 65 cents in gold. How many dollars in gold were 520 dollars in paper money worth at that time?"

"Into a bin that holds 825 bushels, I put 272 bushels of corn, and afterwards 346 more. How many more bushels of corn will it hold?"

"A man paid $465 for a carriage. He spent $57 for repairs on it, and sold it for $500. Did he gain or lose, and how much?" **(Indicate a loss by adding a "-" before the number.)**

"From a tank containing 935 gallons of water, 648 gallons were drawn off, after which 247 gallons ran in. How many gallons were there then in the tank?"

"A farmer raised 895 bushels of oats. He kept 50 bushels for seed, and enough to keep 10 horses, allowing 15 bushels for each horse, and sold the rest at 35 cents per bushel. How much did he receive for the amount sold?"

"What is the product of .275 multiplied by .17?"

"A plasterer received 23¢ per sq. yd. for plastering the walls and ceiling of a room 18 ft. long, 15 ft. wide, and 12 ft. high, non deduction being made for the openings. How much did he receive?

"A man paid $375 for a piano, $13 for freight and cartage, and $2 for tuning it. He then rented it for 7 quarters at $15 a quarter, and afterwards sold it for $325. Did he gain or lost, and how much?" **(Indicate a loss by adding a "-" to the number.)**

"A merchant sold 35.5 yards of cambric at 25 cents per yard and gained $1.775. How much did it cost him per yard?"

"How many gr. are there in 3 sc.?"

"A druggist sold 1 lb. of quinine, which was made into two-grain pills. How many pills were there?" **The Apothecary's Table from the question above will help you with this one!**

"How long was it from Dec. 10, 1835 to May 15, 1887?" **Answer in days.**

"Miss Reed paid $20.3/4 for a gown and $6.1/5 for a hat. What part of the price of the dress did the hat cost?"

TBH, I was expecting math to be easier in ye olden days, but that wasn't the case. And, they didn't have Google. Rough.

Math Flunk!

Your brain kinda shut off when the questions got too wordy, didn't it? I only know because that's basically what mine did. Lucky for me, I had all of the right answers in the back of the book.

Normal Math Skills!

Nothing could've stopped you over a hundred years ago and it's looking like nothing can stop you now.

MATH GENIUS!

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Use A Calculator, I Don't Care, Just Try To Get 16/20 On This Math Test From 1893

Last weekend, I was at an estate sale and I found an incredibly old math book called Elements of Arithmetic that was published in 1893.

Here are 20 questions from the book. Think you can best them? You might need a calculator or a piece of paper for some of these!

Use A Calculator, I Don't Care, Just Try To Get 16/20 On This Math Test From 1893

Last weekend, I was at an estate sale and I found an incredibly old math book called Elements of Arithmetic that was published in 1893.

Here are 20 questions from the book. Think you can best them? You might need a calculator or a piece of paper for some of these!

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