ARE you smarter than an eight-year-old?

Well, prepare to feel silly because if this homework is anything to go by, none of us are.

6 The fiendish assignment is for a third grade student, who would be either eight or nine years old

This photo of a fiendish maths question has been baffling parents and students alike after it was shared online, and it's certain to leave your head hurting.

The assignment is for a third grade student, who would be either eight or nine years old.

But not only does the list of questions appear insanely long, it looks like a puzzle has sneaked in there which has no clear answer.

Question 44 reads: "Janell had 15 marbles. She lost some of them. How many does Janell have now?"

6 Credit: Reddit

6 Credit: Reddit

A photo of the challenging homework sheet was uploaded to Reddit by mum Dusty Sappington, the Huffington Post reports.

But neither mum Dusty, daughter Izzy, nor any of the 800 people who commented on the photo could say for sure what the correct answer is.

One popular comment suggested that the answer would be "< 15" (less than 15), but this isn't actually right, since it would include minus numbers of marbles - which would be impossible in this case.

So the real answer would be closer to "0 < x < 15": x, the number of marbles, is less than fifteen and greater than zero, since we know she lost "some" and not all "marbles".

6 Credit: Reddit

6 Credit: Reddit

Even so, this is unlikely to have been what the teacher was after, prompting other commenters to suggest the solution could just be "some".

But it's more likely that the teacher who set the homework has missed out some key info - and is the one who really could do with a hand finding their own marbles.

Mum Dusty said: "To be honest, I’m unsure if it was printed in error or was a question to test her knowledge of less than and greater than, which she has touched on in the past.

"Being the mother of a third-grader and a fifth-grader, I have seen a lot of homework over the years that has our family laughing at the absurdities, scratching our heads and relying too much on Google."

6 Credit: Reddit

In the end Izzy, who goes to a private school in the US, ended up just writing a question mark in the answer box.

Mum Dusty is yet to see the marked version of the quiz with the correct answer written in, saying: "I haven’t found out the answer, but hope to see her graded paper soon."

If you're in the mood to be challenged, then try your hand at another fiendish set of homework tasks.

We also shared the "ridiculous" Year 7 maths homework question which has been slammed by angry parents.

Meet the parents who have banned their kids from doing homework