Question

By coincidence, Kimberly's Paint Supplies sold equal quantities of two paint colors yesterday: yellow and blue. All yellow paint comes in 9-liter containers while blue paint is sold in 12-liter containers. What is the smallest amount of each paint color the store must have sold?

Answer 1

36 liters

Explanation:

We solve this question using the least common multiple method

Find and list multiples of the liter the blue paint comes in the liters the yellow paint comes in. We find the first common multiple is found. This is the least common multiple.

Multiples of 9:

9, 18, 27, 36, 45, 54

Multiples of 12:

12, 24, 36, 48, 60

Therefore,

LCM(9, 12) = 36

Hence, the smallest amount of each paint color the store must have sold is 36 liters