Question

Natalie has 26 metres of blue wire and 12 metres of green wire. She needs to cut both wires into smaller pieces so that all of the smaller pieces are the same length and there is no wire left over. The length of each piece must be a whole number of metres. What is the longest she can make each smaller piece of wire? Give your answer in metres (m).

Answer 1

Natalie can cut her 26 metres of blue wire and 12 metres of green wire into pieces that are each 2 metres long without any wire left over.

Step-by-step explanation:

Natalie has 26 metres of blue wire and 12 metres of green wire. To find the longest length for each smaller piece of wire such that there's no wire left over, we need to calculate the greatest common divisor (GCD) of the two lengths of wire. The GCD of 26 and 12 is 2 metres. Therefore, Natalie can cut the wires into pieces that are each 2 metres long, which is the longest possible length that allows for all pieces to have the same length and for no wire to be left over.