What is HCF and LCM ? Explain how to find them with an example.

 Highest common factor (HCF) :

The highest common factor (HCF) of two whole numbers is the largest whole number which is a factor of both

Example: Find the HCF of 18 and 27

The factors of 18 are 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 18.

The factors of 27 are 1, 3, 9, 27.

The common factors of 18 and 27 are 1, 3 and 9.

The greatest common factor of 18 and 27 is 9.

Least common multiple (LCM):

The least common multiple (LCM) of two numbers is the smallest number (not zero) that is a multiple of both.

Example: LCM of 3 and 5 can be calculated like this.

The multiples of 3 are 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, ... etc

The multiples of 5 are 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, ... etc

You can see 15 is common to both and it is the least common multiple

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Updated on: 10-Oct-2022

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