Jim has two hens. Betty the hen lays an egg every 3 days and Ellie the hen lays one every 5 days. They both laid eggs yesterday. How many days will it be before they both lay eggs on the same day?
To find out how many days it will be before Jim's hens lay eggs on the same day, we need to determine the least common multiple (LCM) of 3 and 5. The LCM is the smallest number that both 3 and 5 divide evenly into.
To calculate the LCM, we can use the following formula:
LCM(a, b) = (a * b) / GCD(a, b)
First, we need to calculate the greatest common divisor (GCD) of 3 and 5. The GCD is the largest number that divides evenly into both 3 and 5. Since 3 and 5 are prime numbers, their GCD is 1.
Using the formula above, we can calculate the LCM:
LCM(3, 5) = (3 * 5) / 1
= 15
Therefore, 15 days will pass before both hens lay eggs on the same day.