It is given that an army contingent of 616 members is to march behind an army band of 32 members in a parade. Also, the two groups are to march in the same number of columns.
Thus, we need to find the maximum number of columns in which they can march.
This is done by simply finding the HCF of the given two numbers.
Therefore, the maximum number of columns = H.C.F of 616 and 32.
By applying Euclid’s division lemma
616 = 32 x 19 + 8
32 = 8 x 4 + 0.
So, H.C.F. = 8
∴ The maximum number of columns in which they can march is 8.
