Question

John and Susan are getting married! They have 342 guests that plan to attend. They are planning their table set up and want the same number of guests at each table (4 tables). Using the rules of divisibility, how many guests could John and Susan put at each table?

a) 85 guests
b) 86 guests
c) 87 guests
d) 88 guests

Answer 1

Using the rules of divisibility, John and Susan can seat 85 guests at each of their 4 tables to come closest to seating all 342 guests with an equal number at each table.

This correct answer a

Step-by-step explanation:

John and Susan are planning how many guests can be seated at each of their 4 tables if they have a total of 342 guests attending their wedding. To find the number of guests at each table, you can divide the total number of guests by the number of tables. With 342 total guests and 4 tables, we do the division 342 ÷ 4, which equals 85.5.

Since we cannot have half a person at a table, we look at the available options for the number of guests per table which are: 85, 86, 87, and 88.

Out of those options, 85 is the only number that divides evenly into 342 without leaving a remainder, as 85 times 4 equals 340, which leaves us with 2 unaccounted guests.

Therefore, with the objective of having the same number of guests at each table, the closest possible option is seating 85 guests at each table and figuring out an arrangement for the remaining 2 guests.

This correct answer a) 85 guests