A student correctly shows that one half of 12 is seven how?

Answer 1

He can't. Why not. It isn't.

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Edit (Improvement?) by AFriend.ca : This is a trick question, found in many old math puzzle books that I've read. By "trick question" I mean silly and trivial, although some may consider it as "thinking outside the box". It goes like this:

1. Write 12 in roman numerals: XII
2. "Divide" the number in half by drawing a horizontal line through it: XII
3. Looking at the upper "half" of XII, you see what looks like VII, which is seven in roman numerals.

The student then claims to have "divided twelve in half" and shown that the result is seven. (That's usually followed by groans from the others, claims that using roman numerals isn't fair, claims that it's an unfair trick question, and so on.)