Question

You are making fruit baskets using 54 apples, 36 oranges, and 73 bananas. a. Explain why you cannot make identical fruit baskets without leftover fruit.b. What is the greatest number of identical fruit baskets you can make with the least amount of fruit left over? Explain how you found your answer

Answer 1

Question 1:
73 is a prime number. It can only be divided by 1 and by itself. 

The GCF of the three numbers:
 54                               36                            73
1×54                           1×36                          1×73
2×27                          2×18
3×18                           3×12
6×9                            4×9
                                   6×6

GCF of 54, 36 and 73  is 1

GCF of 54 and 36 is 18

If we divide 54 apples into 18 baskets, we have 3 apples in each basket
If we divide 36 oranges into 18 baskets, we have 2 oranges in each basket
If we divide 73 bananas into 18 baskets, we have 4 bananas in each basket + one banana left over.

So the greatest number of identical fruit baskets we can make with the least amount of fruit left over is 18 baskets