Question

Write and solve a real-world problem that

can be solved using the greatest common factor of two numbers.

Answer 1

What is the minimum number of square towels that can be cut from a ream of cloth 20 meters in length and 16 meters wide without wasting any cloth ?

Solution:

The measurement of one side of required square towel is HCF(20,16) = 4 meters.

The area of one square towel is 4 x 4 = 16 sq m.

The area of full ream = 20 x 16 = 320 sqm

Minimum number of towels possible is :

320/16 = 20 towels.

Explanation:

Answer 2

We use greatest common factors all the time with fractions, and as fractions are used a lot in everyday life, this makes GCF very useful! By finding the GCF of the denominator and numerator, you can then successfully simplify a fraction or ratio. E.g. We can simplify 3045 by knowing that its HCF is 15 .