Highest Common Factor (HCF), Important Formulae, Example Questions with Solutions, Lowest Common Multiple (LCM), Important Formulae, Example Questions...
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The HCF of two or more numbers or expressions is the largest factor that divides all of them without leaving a remainder. For algebraic expressions, it’s the highest degree of common terms in all expressions.
\(
\begin{aligned}
& \text{Important Formula:} \\
& \text{HCF} = \text{Common Factor} \\
& \text{Note:} \\
& \text{HCF will be ‘1’ if no common factor exists.}
\end{aligned}
\)
Example Questions with Solutions
Here are the example questions and answers for finding the HCF of given expressions.
\(
\begin{aligned}
& \text{Q2. Find the HCF of: } (2a^3 - a^2 + a - 2), (a^3 – a^2 + a - 1) \\
& Sol^n: \text{Here, First Expression: } \\
& = (2a^3 - a^2 + a - 2) \\
& = 2a^3 – 2 - a^2 + a \\
& = 2(a^3 – 1) – a(a - 1) \\
& = 2\lbrace (a – 1)(a^2 + a \cdot 1 + 1^2 )\rbrace – a(a - 1) \\
& = 2\lbrace (a – 1)(a^2 + a + 1)\rbrace – a(a - 1) \\
& = (a - 1)\lbrace 2(a^2 + a + 1) – a \rbrace \\ \\
& \text{Second Expression:} \\
& = (a^3 – a^2 + a - 1) \\
& = (a^3 – 1^3 - a^2 + a) \\
& = (a - 1) (a^2 + a \cdot 1 + 1^1) – a(a - 1)) \\
& = (a - 1) (a^2 + a + 1) – a(a - 1)) \\
& = (a - 1) (a^2 + a + 1 – a) \\
& = (a - 1) (a^2 + 1) \\
& \therefore \text{HCF} = \text{Common Factor} = (a - 1)
\end{aligned}
\)
\(
\begin{aligned}
& \text{Q3. Find the HCF of: } (a^3 - b^3), (a^3 – a^2b + ab^2), (a^4 + a^2b^2 + b^4) \\
& Sol^n: \text{Here, First Expression: } \\
& = (a^3 - b^3)\\
& = (a + b)(a^2 - ab + b^2) \\ \\
& \text{Also, Second Expression:} \\
& = (a^3 – a^2b + ab^2) \\
& = a (a^2 – ab + b^2) \\ \\
& \text{And, Third Expression:} \\
& = (a^4 + a^2b^2 + b^4) \\
& = (a^2 + ab + b^2) (a^2 – ab + b^2) \\
& \therefore \text{HCF} = \text{Common Factor} = (a^2 – ab + b^2)
\end{aligned}
\)
Lowest Common Multiple - LCM
The LCM of two or more numbers or expressions is the smallest multiple that is divisible by all of them. For algebraic expressions, it involves the smallest expression that all given expressions can divide without leaving a remainder.