Answer:
Each gift bag contains 24 pens, 7 pencils, and 2 eraser
Step-by-step explanation:
The greatest common factor of some given numbers is the greatest number that the given numbers are divisible by it
- Ex: The greatest common factor of 8, 12, 36 is 4, because 8, 12, 36 divisible by it and 8/4 = 2, 12/4 = 3, 36/4 = 9, there is no other common factor between 2, 3, 9.
Let us use the greatest common factor to solve the question
The factors of 144 are:
1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12,16, 24, 36, 72, 144
The factors of 42 are:
1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 14, 21, 42
The factors of 12 are:
1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12
The common factors of 144, 42, 12 are:
1, 2, 3, 6
The greatest common factor of 144, 42, 12 is 6
∵ Suresh needs to pack 144 pens, 42 pencils, and 12 erasers into
identical gift bags
∵ Each item is equally distributed among the gift bags
→That means the number of bags must be the greatest common factor
of 144, 42 and 12
∵ 6 is the greatest common factor of 144, 42, 12
∴ The number of bags must be 6
∵ 144 ÷ 6 = 24
∴ Each bag contains 24 pens
∵ 42 ÷ 6 = 7
∴ Each bag contains 7 pencils
∵ 12 ÷ 6 = 2
∴ Each bag contains 2 erasers
∴ Each gift bag contains 24 pens, 7 pencils, and 2 eraser
