Answer: 8
Ronnie is buying pens and pencils from the store. Pens come in packages of 4, but pencils are sold in packages of 8. If Ronnie wishes to purchase the same number of pens as pencils, what is the smallest number of pens that he can buy?
Step-by-step explanation:
You need to find the smallest number that is a multiple of both 4 and 8. This is the least common multiple.
List the multiples of each number. Find the smallest number that appears in both lists.
Multiples of 4: 4, 8, 12, 16, 20
Multiples of 8: 8, 16, 24, 32, 40
The least common multiple of 4 and 8 is 8. That means that the smallest number of pens that Ronnie can buy is 8, because 2 packages of 4 pens is 8 pens in total and 1 package of 8 pencils is 8 pencils in total.
The smallest number of pens that Ronnie can buy is 8.