Larry has 4-cent stamps and 9-cent stamps, which he can combine to produce various amounts of postage.
For example, he can make 40 cents by using four 9-cent stamps and a 4-cent stamp, or by using ten 4-cent stamps.
However, there are some amounts of postage he can't make exactly, such as 10 cents.
What is the largest number of cents that Larry CANNOT make exactly from a combination of 4- and/or 9-cent stamps?
Explain how you know your answer is correct. (You should explain two things:
why Larry can't make the amount of your answer, and
why he CAN make any bigger amount.)
⋯{4}⋯{8,9}⋯{12,13}⋯{16,17,18}⋯{20,21,22}⋯23{24,25,26,27⏟24+4=28,25+4=29,26+4=30,27+4=31}{28,29,30,31⏟28+4=32,29+4=23,30+4=34,31+4=35}{32,33,34,35⏟32+4=36,33+4=37,34+4=38,35+4=39} and so on{reachable}⋯not reachable
23 is the largest number of cents that Larry CANNOT make exactly from a combination of 4- and/or 9-cent stamps.
After four consecutive reachable numbers, 24, 25, 26, 27, he CAN make any bigger amount.
