An easy question on most and least for P1–P2, with a step-by-step solution, diagrams and the answer. Finding the most and the least appears in the Hua Xia Cup from the P1 and P2 first rounds to the P6 papers.
The question
A teacher shares out some stickers among 4 pupils, giving them all away.
Everyone gets at least 1, and no two pupils get the same number.
What is the fewest stickers the teacher can have?
Show the hints (2)
💡Hint 1: To use as few as possible, how many should the pupil with the fewest get? And the next pupil, at least?
💡Hint 2: Line the pupils up from fewest to most: 1, 2, … each 1 more than the one before.
Worked solution
Have a go first, then read the solution step by step.
1.Line the 4 pupils up from fewest to most: the first gets at least 1; the second must get more, so at least 1 + 1 = 2; and so on, the 4th at least 1 + 3 = 4.
2.So at least 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 10.
3.And it can be done: 1, 2, 3, 4, all different, everyone with at least 1.
⚠️Common mistake: answering 4 × 1 = 4, forgetting that everyone's number must be different.
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