A factory requires 42 machines to produce a given number of articles in 63 days. How many machines would be required to produce the same number of articles in 54 days?

Explanation

To solve the problem step by step, we will use the concept of inverse proportion.

### Step 1: Understand the relationship
We know that the number of machines and the number of days are inversely proportional. This means that if the number of machines increases, the number of days required decreases, and vice versa.

### Step 2: Set up the equation
Let’s denote:
- \( M_1 = 42 \) (the number of machines initially required)
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