Question

Two classes are planting flower bulbs in the school garden.

Ms. Kim’s class has 36 tulip bulbs.

Mr. Lopez’s class has 48 daffodil bulbs.

They want to plant the bulbs in equal rows with no bulbs left over, and each row will have the same number of bulbs of only one type.

What is the greatest number of rows they can make?

A. 6
B. 8
C. 12
D. 16

Answer 1

We need the largest number r of equal rows that works for both classes, so r must divide both 36 and 48. The greatest such r is gcd(36,48) = 12.

Check: 36 = 12·3 (3 tulips per row), 48 = 12·4 (4 daffodils per row).

Answer: C. 12