Can YOU tell which animal is different? Maths question meant for first-grade pupils leaves the internet puzzled

The question was a part of the homework for pupils in Jiangsu, China[CN]

这个问题是中国江苏省小学生的作业之一。

Children were asked to pick one animal which is deemed different[CN]

孩子们要选出不同类别的动物。

They had to choose from a cat, a chicken, a pig, a rabbit and a cow [CN]

他们得从猫，鸡，猪，兔子和牛之间选出一个动物。

Thousands of parents have given their answers on the social media [CN]

上千上万的父母在社交媒体上给出了他们的答案。

First-grade pupils in China were asked to choose a 'different' animal from the five animals[CN]

中国一年级的学生需要从这5个动物中选出不同的一个。

The question given to six-year-olds have left thousands of parents in China baffled (file photo)[CN]

这种问题出给1年纪的学生做，上千上万的中国父母表示百思不得其解（如图）。

A Chinese maths teacher  said the answer was the chicken because it had two legs (file photo)[CN]

数学老师说答案是小鸡，因为图中只有鸡是两条腿（如图）

A  question given to six-year-old children has left thousands of parents scratching their heads.[CN]

六岁小孩做的试题让成千上万的中国父母搔头挠耳。

Assigned as a part of the maths homework to first-grade pupils in a primary school in Jiangsu Province, eastern China, the question involves five animals: a cat, a chicken, a pig, a rabbit and a cow.[CN]

中国东部的江苏省，一所小学给一年级的小学生出了一道数学作业，作业中有猫，鸡，猪，兔，牛五种动物。

It asks the pupil to choose one animal which is deemed different from the rest.[CN]

学生需从这五种动物中挑出不同类的一项。

One parent took a picture of the homework and posted it to QQ, a Chinese chatting platform, reported the People's Daily Online.[CN]

一位家长拍下作业的照片并发到QQ（一款聊天工具）上，人民日报网报报道。

The post has been quickly shared by web users since then, with thousands of parents debating over the correct answer.[CN]

很快这个发表就被网民们分享，成千上万的父母为正确答案争论不休。

Many people said on Chinese social media that the answer should be the cat because 'all the other animals are livestock and could be eaten'. 

Others argued that the answer should be the chicken as it was the only animal that didn't have four legs. 

One such post on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform, attracted nearly 3,000 comments since it went up yesterday.

One Weibo user 'mo deng xian asx' answered: 'It should be the chicken. Chickens don't have ears.'

Another user 'YBD' argued: 'It should be the pig because it's not halal food.'

A third user 'mo wei xi xia' said: 'It's the cat because it's not a part of China's 12 animal signs.' 

A primary school maths teacher in Jiangsu Province, where the question originated, told a reporter from Pengcheng Evening News that the correct answer should be the chicken. 

The teacher, surnamed Zhao, said: 'A chicken has two legs, all the other animals have four.'

Zhao also said a lot of parents tended to complicate simple questions given to small children.

The teacher said: 'Children's logic is different from adults'. Math questions given to first-grade pupils will reflect their logic.'

When presented the question, Lu Ting, a mother from Shanghai, told MailOnline that she thought the answer should be chicken 'because it doesn't have teeth'.

Lu, whose daughter is in the second-grade, said the maths questions given to her child were not easy.

She said: 'I can't understand many of them, but magically my daughter knows how to answer. '

A maths teacher in Shanghai, who called herself Amy, told MailOnline: 'If we look at the question from the number of legs the animal has, then the answer should be the chicken.

'If we are talking about Chinese animal signs, then it's indeed the cat.'

However, the teacher added that as long as the pupil could explain his or her choice, the answer should not be deemed wrong.