Problem of the Week
Problem A and Solution
Theatre Trip

Problem

The Grade \(3\) and Grade \(4\) classes are going on a field trip to the theatre. There are \(143\) students, \(6\) teachers, and \(16\) parent volunteers that will be travelling by school bus to the theatre. If each bus is limited to \(45\) passengers, what is the fewest number of buses needed for the trip?

Solution

First we need to calculate how many people will be travelling in total.

There is a total of \(143 + 6 + 16 = 165\) people on the field trip.

Now we can make a table that shows how many people can be transported on buses that hold \(45\) people each:

From this table, we see that \(3\) buses will not hold enough people for the trip, but \(4\) buses will have enough room for everybody. Therefore, the fewest number of buses needed is \(4\).