A federation with 36 states is conducting a constitutional amendment. The constitution requires approval by at least two-thirds of the state legislatures. What is the MINIMUM number of states that must approve the amendment for it to be valid?

Two-thirds of 36 states is calculated as (2/3) × 36 = 24 states. Therefore, at least 24 state legislatures must approve the amendment for it to meet the constitutional threshold. Choosing 18 would represent only one-half, 27 would be three-quarters, and 30 would be five-sixths — all of which are incorrect interpretations of the two-thirds requirement.