Barbara, Mary and Emily were each given a piece of thread of equal length. Barbara cut hers into equal lengths of 4 cm, Mary cut hers into equal lengths of 5 cm, and Emily cut hers into equal lengths of 8 cm. If there were no remainder in each case, find the shortest length of thread given to each of them.
Multiples of 4: 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40
Multiples of 5: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40
Multiples of 8: 8, 16, 24, 32, 40
Shortest length of thread given to each of thecm
= Lowest common multiple of 4 cm, 5 cm and 8 cm
= 40 cm
Answer(s): 40 cm