Math question

Question

You need to order pipe for 3 different projects which require 42, 126, and 210 feet of pipe respectively. Pipes can be ordered any length, however, all pipes in an order must be of the same length. Pipes may be combined to produce longer pipes, but may not be cut. What size of pipe would result in the smallest order size?

Answer 1

Natasha,

 

126 = 42*3

210 = 42*5

 

So one can order pipes of 42 feet for all the three projects. 

 

Another way to look at this is to find Least Common Multiple of the three numbers, which in this case is 42.