Last Updated on May 3, 2023
GMAT OFFICIAL GUIDE PS
Solution:
We are given that a gym class can be divided into 8 teams or 12 teams, with an equal number of players on each team. Translating this into two mathematical expressions we can say, where G is the total number of students in the gym class, that:
G/8 = integer and G/12 = integer
This means that G is a multiple of both 8 and 12.
We are asked to determine the lowest number of students in the class, or the lowest value for variable “G”. Because we know that G is a multiple of 8 and of 12, we need to find the least common multiple of 8 and 12. Although there are technical ways for determining the least common multiple, the easiest method is to analyze the multiples of 8 and 12 until we find one in common.
Starting with 8, we have: 8, 16, 24, 32
For 12, we have: 12, 24
For the multiples of 12, we stopped at 24, because we see that 24 is also a multiple of 8. Thus, 24 is the least common multiple of 8 and 12, and therefore we know that the lowest possible number of students in the gym class is 24.
Answer: B
