Tell me again why we're here

We just hit the midterm yesterday. And I mean we ran right into it like we didn't see it coming. We were just toolin' along, singing in our atonal kind of way with the tune in our head when—BAM!—we smacked full-on into week six. Or is it week five? See? We hit midterm so hard I've lost my ability to count.

I have a classroom gem I would like to share with you. For matters of clarity, please recall that I teach mathematics. Everyone on board? Let's go...

Me: What questions are there on the homework assignment (inside my head voice: that you have had for a week and probably haven't looked at yet) that is due tomorrow?

One of Them (OoT): I'm not sure how to start number three.

FYI: #3. Find all the points on the graph of y=x^2 that are a distance of 1 unit away from the point (1,2).

Me: Hmmm...(thinking about how to nudge OoT along without sharing the answer outright) ...

Another One of Them (AOoT): There's only one.

Me: There is at least one. There are definitely more.

AOoT: Well, sure. If you want to get into the numbers.

Yes, why would we want to do that in this—of all places—a math class?