An army contingent of 616 members is to march behind an army band of 32 members in a parade. The two groups are to march in the same number of columns. What is the maximum number of columns in which they can march?

We have to find the HCF (616, 32) to find the maximum number of columns in which they can march.
To find the HCF, we can use Euclid’s algorithm.

616 = 32 × 19 + 8
32 = 8 × 4 + 0
The HCF (616, 32) is 8.

Therefore, they can march in 8 columns each.