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A farmer has a rectangular field that measures 60 meters by 40 meters. He wants to divide this field into smaller rectangular plots, each with an area of 120 square meters. He also wants to ensure that the dimensions of each smaller plot are integer values. How many different ways can the farmer divide the field into smaller plots?
The factors of 120 and their corresponding pairs are:
1×1202×603×404×305×246×208×1510×1212×1015×820×624×530×440×360×2120×1=120=120=120=120=120=120=120=120=120=120=120=120=120=120=120=120
To fit the dimensions into the field exactly, the length and width of the field (60 meters and 40 meters) must be divisible by the dimensions of the plot.
Valid pairs:
(a,b)(a,b)(a,b)(a,b)(a,b)(a,b)(a,b)(a,b)=(10,12)=(12,10)=(20,6)=(6,20)=(15,8)=(8,15)=(30,4)=(4,30)(since 60÷10=6 and 40÷12=3.333, not valid)(since 60÷12=5 and 40÷10=4, valid)(since 60÷20=3 and 40÷6=6.666, not valid)(since 60÷6=10 and 40÷20=2, valid)(since 60÷15=4 and 40÷8=5, valid)(since 60÷8=7.5 and 40÷15=2.666, not valid)(since 60÷30=2 and 40÷4=10, valid)(since 60÷4=15 and 40÷30=1.333, not valid)So, valid pairs that fit exactly into the 60 by 40 field are:
Thus, there are 4 different ways the farmer can divide the field into smaller plots of 120 square meters each with integer dimensions.