Emma, Marion and Victoria have equal number of erasers. Emma packs all her erasers equally into 3 packets. Marion packs all her erasers equally into 8 packets. Victoria packs all her erasers equally into 6 packets. 2 packets of Emma's erasers, 3 packets of Marion's erasers and 5 packets of Victoria's erasers add up to 225 erasers. How many erasers do they have altogether?

	Emma	Marion	Victoria
Number of packets	3	8	6
Number of erasers	24 u	24 u	24 u
Number of erasers in each packet	8 u	3 u	4 u

All the erasers can be put into the packets without remainder.

All the children have equal numbers of erasers. 
Make the number of erasers that each child has the same. LCM of 3, 8 and 6 = 24

Number of erasers that each child has = 24 u

Number of erasers in 1 packet of Emma's erasers = 24 u ÷ 3 = 8 u
Number of erasers in 1 packet of Marion's erasers = 24 u ÷ 8 = 3 u
Number of erasers in 1 packet of Victoria's erasers = 24 u ÷ 6 = 4 u

Number of erasers in 2 packets of Emma's erasers, 3 packets of Marion's erasers and 5 packets of Victoria's erasers
= (2 x 8 u) + (3 x 3 u) + (5 x 4 u)
= 16 u + 9 u + 20 u
= 45 u

45 u = 225

1 u = 225 ÷ 45 = 5

Total number of erasers that they have
= 3 x 24 u
= 72 u
= 72 x 5
= 360

Answer(s): 360