Name ___________________________ Date _______________________

GCF and LCM Word Problems

Solve each word problem by fnding GCF or LCM.
1. Pencils come in packages of 10. Erasers come in packages of 12.
Phillip wants to purchase the smallest number o pencils and
erasers so that he will have exactly ! eraser per pencil. ow many
packages of pencils an! erasers shoul! Phillip "uy#
$. % packages of pencils an! & packages of erasers
'. ( packages of pencils an! % packages of erasers
). * packages of pencils an! ( packages of erasers
D. 12 packages of pencils an! 10 packages of erasers
2. +iara "ake! &0 oatmeal cookies an! %, chocolate chip cookies to
package in plastic containers for her frien!s at school. -he wants to
!ivi!e the cookies into i!entical containers so that each container has
the same number o each "ind o coo"ie. .f she wants each
container to have the greatest number o coo"ies possible/ how
many plastic containers !oes she nee!#
&. 'oxes that are 12 inches tall are "eing stacke! next to "oxes that are
1, inches tall. 0hat is the shortest height at which the two stacks
will "e the same height#
%. 'eginning at ,1&0 $.2./ tours of the National )apitol an! the 0hite
ouse "egin at a tour agency. 3ours for the National )apitol leave
every 1( minutes. 3ours for the 0hite ouse leave every 20 minutes.
ow often !o the tours leave at the same time#
$. Every 1( minutes
'. Every &0 minutes
). Every %( minutes
D. Every *0 minutes
(. 3wo neon lights are turne! on at the same time. 4ne "links every %
secon!s an! the other "links every * secon!s. .n *0 secon!s/ how
many times will they blin" at the same time#
*. 3he ta"le "elow shows the num"er of stu!ents in the school choir.
School Choir
3he choir teacher plans to arrange the stu!ents in e5ual rows. 4nly
girls or "oys will "e in each row. 0hat is the greatest number o
students that coul! "e in each row#
$. 1* '. 12 ). , D. %
6. $t a !isplay "ooth at an amusement park/ every visitor gets a gift "ag.
-ome of the "ags have items in them as shown in the ta"le "elow.
Items in the Gift Bags

ow often will a "ag contain all three items#
$. Every 1% "ags
'. Every 17 "ags
). Every 60 "ags
D. Every 1%0 "ags
,. 'ri!get has swimming lessons every 8fth !ay an! !iving lessons every
thir! !ay. .f she ha! a swimming lesson an! a !iving lesson on 2ay (/
when will "e the next !ate on which she has both swimming and
diving lessons#
GCF and LCM Word Problems
#nswer $ey
Students Number
Girls 48
Boys 64
Items Bags
Hat Every 2
nd
visitor
T-shirt Every 7
th
visitor
Backpack Every 10
th
visitor
1. 10 9 10/ 20/ &0/ %0/ (0/ %&
12 9 12/ 2%/ &*/ %,/ %& LCM ' %&
*0 : 10 ; * packages of pencils
*0 : 12 ; ( packages of erasers $nswer )hoice1 C
2. &0 9 1/ 2/ &/ (/ %/ 10/ 1(/ &0
%, 9 1/ 2/ &/ %/ %/ ,/ 12/ 1*/ 2%/ %, GCF ' %
+iara nee!s % plastic containers for her cookies.
&. 12 9 12/ 2%/ (%
1, 9 1,/ (% LCM ' (%
3he two stacks will "e the same height at (% inches.
%. 1( 9 1(/ &0/ %(/ %&
20 9 20/ %0/ %& LCM ' %&
3he tours leave at the same time every *0 minutes. <$nswer )hoice1
C=
(. % 9 %/ ,/ 12/ 1*/ 20/ )*
* 9 */ 12/ 1,/ )* LCM ' )*
*0 : 2% ; 2.(
.n *0 secon!s/ the lights will "link twice at the same time.
*. %, 9 1/ 2/ &/ %/ */ ,/ 12/ !%/ 2%/ %,
*% 9 1/ 2/ %/ ,/ !%/ &2/ *% GCF ' !% <$nswer
)hoice1 #=
6. 2 9 2/ %/ */ ,/ 10>+&
6 9 6/ 1%/ 21/ 2,/ &(/ %2/ %7/ (*/ *&/ +&
10 9 10/ 20/ &0/ %0/ (0/ *0/ +& GCF ' +& <$nswer
)hoice1 C=
,. ( x & ; !, LCM ' !,
( ? 1( ; 20
'ri!get will have "oth swimming an! !iving lessons on May )&
th
.