Mr. Ahmad has three pieces of wire of length 100 cm, 175 cm and 225 cm. He wishes to cut the three pieces of wire into smaller pieces of equal length with no remainder.
- What is the greatest possible length of each of the smaller pieces of wire?
- How many of the smaller pieces of wire of equal length can he get?
(a)
Factors of 100: 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50, 100
Factors of 175:1, 5, 7, 25, 35, 175
Factors of 225:1, 3, 5, 9, 15, 25, 45, 75, 225
The highest common factor of 100, 175 and 225 is 25.
Greatest possible length of each smaller piece of wire = 25 cm
(b)
Total length of wire
= 175 + 225 + 100
= 500 cm
Number of smaller pieces
= 500 ÷ 25
= 20
Answer(s): 25 cm; (b) 20