Question

You are filling bags with cookies to give your friends. You have 18 chocolate chip cookies and 24 peanut butter cookies. You want identical groups of cookies in each bag with no cookies left over. What is the greatest number of bags you can fill? (Please fill in the blank: Each bag will have _____ cookies.)

Answer 1

This means we need 3 chocolate chips and 4 peanut butter in each bag for a total of 7 cookies in each bag

Explanation:

Find the prime factors of each number

Chocolate chips 18 = 3*6 = 3 * 2*3

Peanut butter 24 = 4*6 = 2*2*2*3

We want to fill the greatest number of bags so cancel the like factors

Chocolate chips 18 = 3*6 = 3

Peanut butter 24 = 4*6 = 2*2 =4

This means we need 3 chocolate chips and 4 peanut butter in each bag for a total of 7 cookies in each bag