How Much Can We Spend?


A country has decided to have just two different coins.

It has been suggested that these should be 3z and 5z coins.

Proposed 3z and 5z coins

The shops think this is a good idea since most totals can be made:

Money bags containing coins totalling 11z and 31z

Unfortunately some totals can't be made, for example 4z.
Which totals can be made?
Is there a largest total that cannot be made?
How do you know?

They have decided that they will definitely have 3z coins but can't make up their minds about the other coin.


Experiment with other pairings containing 3z.
Which totals can be made?
Can you find a rule to help you predict which totals can be made?
What is the largest total that cannot be made?
How do you know?

In other countries they have also decided to have just two coins, but instead of the 3z coins they have chosen a different prime number.


Can you find rules to help you predict what totals are possible for different pairings?

Summarise your findings.


NOTES AND BACKGROUND

The coin problem (also referred to as Frobenius coin problem or Frobenius problem) is a mathematics problem associated with the German mathematician Ferdinand Georg Frobenius and often introduced in the context of making exact change given the availability of coins of specific denominations. To read about it go to Wikipedia.