Question

A director of a marching band asks the band members to line up in rows of 4, but one is leftover.

a. The band members are not following instructions.
b. The director's instructions are unclear.
c. The band has an odd number of members.
d. The director's plan is unsuccessful.

Answer 1

The correct answer is that the band has an odd number of members because if there's one member left over when trying to divide them into rows of 4, it indicates an odd total number.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question presented suggests a mathematical problem concerning divisibility and the properties of numbers. The key to answering this question lies in understanding that if a group is to be divided into rows of 4 with one left over, the total number of people in that group must be an odd number. This is because any multiple of 4 will result in an even number, and adding one to an even number produces an odd number.Therefore, the correct answer is: c. The band has an odd number of members. This is because according to the information given, when trying to line up the marching band members in rows of 4, there's one member who does not fit into these groups, which suggests that the total number of band members cannot be evenly divided by 4, indicating an odd total.