A farmer has some number of sheep and needs to divide them into equal groups.

He tries groups of 2, but finds he has 1 left over.

Then he tries groups of 3, but has 2 left over.

Then he tries groups of 4, but has 3 left over.

And so on, until he gets to groups of 17, and the sheep fit perfectly.

What is the minimum number of sheep he has?

(In reply to re: Solution by Leming)

Thanks, Leming.

It seems that the farmer is a very big  businessman as well as a  mathematician.

Edited on July 11, 2008, 12:40 pm

Posted by K Sengupta on 2008-07-11 12:23:50