A shop sells pens and files only in packs. A pack of 8 pens cost $32. A pack of 2 files cost $10. A student wants to buy an equal number of pens and files. What is the least amount that the student must pay?

To solve this problem, we first need to find the cost of a single pen and a single file.

1. The cost of a single pen is $32 / 8 =$4.
2. The cost of a single file is $10 / 2 =$5.

Since the student wants to buy an equal number of pens and files, and the cost of a file is higher than the cost of a pen, the minimum amount the student must pay is determined by the cost of the files.

However, files are sold in packs of 2. So, the student must buy at least one pack of files, which costs $10.

Since the student also wants to buy an equal number of pens, they must also buy at least 2 pens, which costs $4 * 2 =$8.

So, the least amount that the student must pay is $10 (for the files) +$8 (for the pens) = $18.

To solve this problem, we first need to find the cost of a single pen and a single file.

1. The cost of a single pen is $32/8 =$4.
2. The cost of a single file is $10/2 =$5.

Since the student wants to buy an equal number of pens and files, and the cost of a file is higher than the cost of a pen, the least amount the student must pay will be determined by the number of files.

However, files are sold in packs of 2. So, the student must buy at least one pack of files, which costs $10.

Since the student also needs to buy an equal number of pens, they will need to buy 2 pens (to match the 2 files), which will cost 2*$4 =$8.

So, the least amount the student must pay is $10 (for the files) +$8 (for the pens) = $18.