There are 461 students and 20 teachers taking buses on a trip to a museum. Each bus can seat a maximum of 52. What is the least number of buses needed for the trip?

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Answer 1 · 2016-11-15T11:47:33

$10$ $10$ buses are needed.
$9$ $9$ buses will only be able to take 468 people.

There are $461 + 20 = 481$ $461 + 20 = 481$ people altogether needing transport.

Each bus can take at most 52 people.

The number of buses needed = $482 \div 52$ $482 div 52$

$482 \div 52 = 9.25$ $482 div 52 = 9.25$ buses.

You might be tempted to round down to 9 buses (because of the 2 that follows the decimal)

However, if there are 9 buses, $9 \times 52 = 468$ $9 xx 52 = 468$ people can be taken

There will still be $13$ $13$ people to be transported.

This is an example of where you need to round UP to the next whole number. $10$ $10$ buses are needed.

In reality it means that not all the buses will be full, but 10 buses are needed to ensure that everyone gets a ride to the museum.