Final answer:
The least number of students in the sixth-grade class that can be arranged in rows of either 7 or 8 students is found by calculating the least common multiple (LCM) of 7 and 8, which is 56.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question posed is about finding the least number of students in the sixth-grade class that can be arranged in rows of either 7 or 8 students. To find this, we need to calculate the least common multiple (LCM) of 7 and 8. The least common multiple of two numbers is the smallest number that is a multiple of both numbers.
First, we list the multiples of each number:
- Multiples of 7: 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56, 63, 70,...
- Multiples of 8: 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48, 56, 64, 72, 80...
Looking through the multiples, we find that 56 is a common multiple but not the smallest one. The next common multiple we encounter is 56 which is indeed the least common multiple of 7 and 8. Therefore, the least number of students in the sixth-grade class for them to be able to stand in rows of either 7 or 8 is 56.