sandy wrote:
A pantry holds x cans of beans, twice as many cans of soup, and half as many cans of tomato paste as there are cans of beans. If there are no other cans in the pantry, which of the following could be the total number of cans in the pantry?
Indicate two such numbers.
A. 6
B. 7
C. 36
D. 45
E. 63
x = number of cans of beans
2x = number of cans of soup
0.5x = number of cans of tomato paste
TOTAL number of cans = x + 2x + 0.5x =
3.5xSince the total number of cans must be an INTEGER,
3.5x must be an INTEGER, which means
x must be evenIf x = 2, then the TOTAL number of cans = 7
If x = 4, then the TOTAL number of cans = 14
If x = 6, then the TOTAL number of cans = 21
If x = 8, then the TOTAL number of cans = 28
If x = 10, then the TOTAL number of cans = 35
.
.
.
As we can see,
the TOTAL number of cans will always be divisible by 7Check the answer choices . . . B and E are divisible by 7.
Answer: B, E
Cheers,
Brent