Question

Pat and Fran are quality control specialists in a

light bulb factory. Pat inspects every 20 cartons
of bulbs for breakage. Fran inspects every 36
cartons for incorrect labeling. If they start at
the same time, which carton will be the first
that both of them inspect?

Answer 1

They will both inspect every 180 cartons.

Explanation:

Firstly you could find the LCM of 20 and 36.

Multiples of 20 are: 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 140, 180, etc...

Multiples of 36 are: 36, 72, 108, 144, 180, 216, 252, 288, etc...

Therefore 180 is the answer, all they were asking was what was the LCM. Hope this helped you !!

Answer 2

• Carton 180

Explanation:

This is about the LCM of the numbers 20 and 36.

First find the prime factors of both numbers:

• 20 = 2*2*5
• 36 = 2*2*3*3

Now find the LCM:

• LCM(20, 36) = 2*2*3*3*5 = 180

They will both inspect every 180 cartons.