Question

Huixian needs to pack 171 pens,63 pencils and 27 erasers in to identical gift bags so that each item is equally distributed among the gift bags. Find

(i) the largest number of gift bags that can be packed,
(ii) the number of each item in a gift bag

Answer 1

i) 9

ii) 19 pens, 7 pencils, 3 erasers

Explanation:

i) 171 = 3² x 19

63 = 3² x 7

27 = 3³

Highest Common Factor/HCF (171, 63, 27) = 3² = 9

Largest no. of bags = 9

ii) In each bag,

No. of pens = 171 / 9 = 19

No. of pencils = 63 / 9 = 7

No. of erasers = 27 / 9 = 3