The problem I see with this is that in order to mathematically solve this, here are the steps one has to perform:

1) Create a two-variable equation that describes the problem, ie x - y = 15 for the first and a + b = 62 for the second one. If you aren't familiar, this is the formula for a line in the common format ax + by = c.

2) Solve the equation repeatedly for the second variable by using one of the values from the list (generates a table of value pairs).

3) Identify the value pair solution that exclusively matches to the available numbers defined.

I have had five children in first grade already and another in kindergarten this year. Single-variable math doesn't get introduced until first grade and even then it is simple addition and subtraction like 15 - 5 = __. Lines as equation solutions don't get introduced until fourth grade for most kids. Second grade starts on multiplication and division and third grade starts into fractions. Story problems aren't introduced until very late first grade at the earliest - usually second grade, and even then are explicitly worded like this: "Sammy has 25 cents and wants to buy an ice cream cone for 20 cents. How much will Sammy have left over?"

The goal of teaching - especially math - is to make it easy for the kids to build on the concepts they already know. I have a mother-in-law who teaches kindergarten and a father who teaches college algebra and neither one of them would write a workbook question so obtuse - especially for a first grader!

The object of crap like this isn't to teach the kids math, it's to dissuade the parents from helping their kids with their homework. And maybe to turn kids off from learning math at all. Maybe I'll give this question to my second grader and see what she does with it and post the results.

I didn't see what was wrong with it. It looked like something a 7 year old could do. It was pretty straightforward, although the answer for problem 2 was wrong.

I love Gavin.