Question

Rosa and Terri have been saving coins. Rosa saved pennies, and Terri saved nickels. Both spent all their coins buying the same item. What is the least amount the item could cost?

a) 1 cent
b) 5 cents
c) 10 cents
d) 15 cents

Answer 1

The least amount the item could cost is 5 cents, as it is the least common multiple of 1 cent and 5 cents, allowing Rosa to spend pennies and Terri to spend nickels to purchase the same item.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student's question asks to find the least amount an item could cost if it was bought with only pennies by Rosa and only nickels by Terri. To be able to spend an exact amount with both pennies and nickels, the amount must be a multiple of the least common multiple of 1 cent (the value of a penny) and 5 cents (the value of a nickel). The least common multiple of 1 and 5 is 5. Therefore, the least amount the item could cost, which allows both Rosa and Terri to spend all of their coins, is 5 cents.