Answer:
The smallest number of books each could have shelved = 30 books
Explanation:
We have given that:
Sapphire shelves 5 books at a time and Abe shelves 6 books at a time.
If they end up shelving the same number of books, then we need to find smallest number of books each could have shelved.
That means, we need to find the smallest number that is the multiple of both 5 and 6.
Taking LCM of 5 and 6.
We get LCM of 5 and 6 is 30.
And 30 is the smallest number of books each could have shelved.