Question

Dennis is packing 108 pens, 80 books, 96 notepads into a boxes. He wants to pack an equal amount of each in each box find the greatest number of boxes and the amount in each box.

Answer 1

Work out the highest common factor of 108, 80, and 96

108 80 96

1 × 108 1 × 80 1 × 96
2 × 54 2 × 40 2 × 48
3 × 36 4 × 20 3 × 32
4 × 27 8 × 10 4 × 24
6 × 18 6 × 16
9 × 12 8 × 12

The common factors are = 1, 2, and 4
The Highest Common Factor is 4

The greatest number of box used is 4 boxes
The number of each item in each box is

Pens ⇒ 108÷4 = 27 pens
Books ⇒ 80÷4 = 20 books
Notepads ⇒ 96÷4 = 24 notepads