A gardener plants flowers in the following order: carnations,daffodils, larkspurs, tiger lillies, an | MathCelebrity Forum

A gardener plants flowers in the following order: carnations,daffodils, larkspurs, tiger lillies, an

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A gardener plants flowers in the following order: carnations,daffodils, larkspurs, tiger lillies, and zinnias. if the gardener planted 47 plants, what kind of flower did he plant last?

Let c be carnations, d be daffodils, l be larkspurs, t be tiger lillies, and z be zinnias. The order goes as follows:
c, d, l, t, z.

So each cycle of plants counts as 5 plants. We know that 9 * 5 = 45. So the gardener plants 9 full cycles. Which means they have 47 - 45 = 2 plans left over.

In the order above, the second plant is the daffodil. So the gardener planted the daffodil last.

Now, can we shortcut this problem? Yes, using modulus.

47 plants, with 5 plants per cycle, we do 47 mod 5 through our calculator, and get 2. So we have 2 plants left over, and the daffodil is the second plant.
 
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