A middle school needs buses to transport 579 students. If each bus carries 48 students, what is the least number of buses needed? \( \begin{array}{ll}\text { (A) } 12 \text { buses } & \text { (C) } 14 \text { buses } \\ \text { (B) } 13 \text { buses } & \text { (D) } 15 \text { buses }\end{array} \)

To find the least number of buses needed, you divide the total number of students, 579, by the capacity of each bus, 48. Doing the math, \( 579 \div 48 \) gives you approximately 12.06. Since you can’t have a fraction of a bus, you need to round up to the nearest whole number. Therefore, you'll need 13 buses to ensure all students are transported. Look at it this way: if you only have 12 buses, they can only carry a total of \( 12 \times 48 = 576 \) students. That means 3 students would still be left without a ride! Always remember to round up when you are dealing with full capacity transportation!