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jmc

number theory intermediate

Problem

Mohan is selling cookies at the economics fair. As he decides how to package the cookies, he finds that when he bags them in groups of 4, he has 3 left over. When he bags them in groups of 5, he has 2 left over. When he bags them in groups of 7, he has 4 left over. What is the least number of cookies that Mohan could have?
Solution
Let be the least number of cookies Mohan could have. From the given information, we know that Congruence means that there exists a non-negative integer such that . Substituting this into yields So there exists a non-negative integer such that . Substituting into yields Substituting into this gives The least such that is . Since we have Since satisfies the three congruences, .
Final answer
67