The bookseller sells packages of 15 pens each and 12 pencils each.they want the same number of pens and pencils in their next order.find the smallest number of packages
What is the least common multiple (LCM)
of 15 and 12 ?
To find the smallest number of packages that the bookseller needs to order in order to have the same number of pens and pencils, we first need to find the least common multiple (LCM) of 15 and 12.
To do this, we can list the multiples of each number until we find a common multiple.
Multiples of 15: 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 105, 120...
Multiples of 12: 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96, 108, 120...
From the lists above, we can see that the smallest common multiple of 15 and 12 is 60.
Therefore, the bookseller needs to order packages in multiples of 60 in order to have the same number of pens and pencils. The smallest number of packages would be 60/15 = 4 packages.