Famous Mathematicians
Mr. Descartes, the History of Mathematics teacher, wrote on the blackboard the names of three famous Mathematicians and their year of birth.
Leonardo da Vinci 1452
Leonhard Euler 1707
Srinivasa Ramanujan 1887
He then asked the students to find the
largest
number that leaves the
same remainder
when divided into each of these years of birth.
What is that largest number?
The answer is 15.
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1 solution
If two numbers M and N have the same remainder when divided by L then (M-N) will be divisible by L.
(1707-1452)=255=3x5x17 and (1887-1707)=180=2x2x3x3x5
The largest number is 3x5 or 15.