Connect with a knowledgeable community and get your questions answered on IDNLearn.com. Our experts are available to provide accurate, comprehensive answers to help you make informed decisions about any topic or issue you encounter.

Anna, Stephanie, and James all start running around a track at 8:00. Anna completes a lap every 4 minutes, Stephanie finishes a lap every 7 minutes, and James finishes a lap every 6 minutes. What is the earliest time when all three meet back at the beginning?

Sagot :

Answer:9:24

Step-by-step explanation:

We know that they will meet some time $T$ after 8:00 and that $T$ must be a multiple of 4, 7, and 6. So our job is to find the smallest multiple of those three numbers. Since 4 and 7 share no factors, the first number that is a multiple of both will be $4\cdot7=28$. Next, we must find the smallest multiple of 28 and 6. We can do this in two ways: by listing multiples of 28 until we find one that is a multiple of 6 or by finding what factors of 6 that 28 is missing and multiplying by those factors.

Method 1: The multiples of 28 go 28 (not divisible by 6), 56 (not divisible by 6), 84 (which is divisible by 6!)... So the smallest multiple of 4, 7, and 6 is 84.

Method 2: The factors of 6 are 1,2,3, and 6, so we can write 6 as $2\cdot3$. 28 is divisible by 2 but not by 3, so we must multiply it by 3. We find $28\cdot3=84$ and 84 is therefore the smallest multiple of 4, 7, and 6.

Now we just need to find the time that is 84 minutes after 8:00. Since 9:00 is 60 minutes after 8:00, we just need 24 more minutes after that (since $60+24=84$). The final time is therefore $\boxed{9:24}.$

Thank you for being part of this discussion. Keep exploring, asking questions, and sharing your insights with the community. Together, we can find the best solutions. Your questions find clarity at IDNLearn.com. Thanks for stopping by, and come back for more dependable solutions.