Yes, to those who had studied it was fairly obvious what the solution was, but the phrasing was such that to those who were just trying to wing it failed miserably.
Yes - the first year of University was designed as a catch-up to those who hadn't previously had exposure to this sort of thing and weed out the coasters.
I must stress this was a single question on a single first-year exam. Not representative of the whole course in the slightest.