Question

A museum curator collects fossils from two different periods. He has 400 from one period and 204 from a later period. He plans to arrange the fossils in display cases so that each case contains the same number of fossils. Also, each case must contain fossils from only one period. What is the largest number of fossils that can be placed in each case

Answer 1

4

Step-by-step explanation:

Number of fossils collected over period 1:

400

Number of fossils collected at a later period :

204

For each display case to have the same number of fossils ; the greatest number of fossils possible per case:

Obtain the greatest common factor of both 400 and 204

400 = 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 25, 40, 50, 80, 100, 200, 400

204 = 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12, 17, 34, 51, 102

Hence, the greatest common factor (400 and 204) is 4

Hence, the greatest Number of Fossil possible per case = 4