Impressed teacher explains how student used a Möbius strip to maximize their final exam cheat sheet

There's always that one student in class who outsmarts the teacher. Irrespective of how you feel about them, their smart tactics indeed are impressive. In one such case, a student managed to impress and amaze their teacher by making practical use of what they learned.

@thelatinoteacher, a math teacher who conducted semester finals, shared on his TikTok how one of his students managed to outsmart him by maximizing his cheat sheet using a nifty trick. The video clip crossed 12 million views, inspiring other students to use the tactic in their tests. Education is not just about learning formulas and notes and imprinting them on the test paper but also about practical knowledge that can be applied when needed. This instance is a proof of it.

The teacher explains in his video, "Last week we had semester finals so I allowed my students to have an index card. On one side only, they write whatever they want, formulas or whatever. Guess what a student did." While demonstrating exactly what the student did, he explained that the student grabbed an index card, cut it in half, taped it in the middle, grabbed one end, twisted it and then taped it. "Creating what in mathematics we call the 'Möbius Strip.' It is a field of mathematics that deals with structures, surfaces, properties and materials. This strip has only one side to it," he added, demonstrating this by drawing a continuous line on the paper.

Möbius strip is a one-sided surface formed by affixing the ends of a rectangular strip after first twisting one of the ends in half. This shape has unique characteristics, such as having only one side and remaining intact when split down the middle. 

"Technically, the student did not break the rules. It was only one side of a card. Crazy mathematics!" the teacher concludes, implying that if understood and applied well, math is no less than magic. Talk about working smarter, not harder.

Viewers were pleasantly surprised by the student's smart cheat sheet idea and how well the teacher took it and accepted it. "He deserves an 'A' for resourcefulness," commented @tmspsp. "He deserves extra credit," added @heatherhall2010. "At least you were impressed and allowed it. If you were some other teacher that felt outsmarted he/she would have thrown it away and not allowed it," observed @heyheyhey_003. 

Some students leave a mark on their teachers, and vice versa. One student got a tattoo to show her love and appreciation for her teacher, who helped her in high school. When she showed the tattoo tribute to the teacher, he was completely speechless. Olivia Carrea (@oliviacarrea) captioned the video, "Don't ask how many times I've watched this video lol. This was so special."

The text overlay on the clip reads: "Showing the teacher who got me through high school the tattoo I got for him." She removes her jacket while standing in a classroom to reveal her arm tattoo. The teacher is initially overjoyed for her, but upon closer inspection, he is taken aback by the grand gesture. The tattoo depicts the Roman numeral "XXIX," beneath which is written, "Your presence matters." She explains that when she graduated from high school, he wrote her a letter in which he said, "Your presence matters." The tattooed words are in his handwriting and are from the same letter. She goes on to say that the Roman numeral 29 was his class number. It was a special moment for her because the teacher had been a guiding light in her life.