Counting the Eggs on the Yellow Plate

The supplied yellow-plate image shows fourteen visible egg shapes. The printed choice “12 or 13” is not a reliable answer key: it omits the total visible when the partly hidden egg is counted.

Count in four bands

Start with the three eggs across the top. In the next band count the left 

egg, the partly hidden egg just left of center, the central egg and the 

right egg: four. The next band contains another four eggs. Finish with the 

three along the bottom. Three plus four plus four plus three gives fourteen.

The easy one to miss

Just left of the central egg, a partly covered egg shows its rounded upper 

portion. It can blend into the egg below it at a glance. Follow the 

separate outline rather than treating the overlapping white areas as one shape.

What this count means

This is a reading of the visible photograph, not proof of an unseen 

quantity behind the plate or an eyesight diagnosis. The fried-yolk pan 

used in another post is a different image and has a different answer.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the original image establish?

The supplied yellow-plate image shows fourteen visible egg shapes. The 

printed choice “12 or 13” is not a reliable answer key: it omits the total 

visible when the partly hidden egg is counted.