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In mathematics, the lowest common denominator or least common denominator (abbreviated LCD) is the lowest common multiple of the denominators of a set of fractions. It simplifies adding, subtracting, and comparing fractions.
The least common multiple of the denominators of two fractions is the "lowest common denominator" (lcd), and can be used for adding, subtracting or comparing the fractions. The least common multiple of more than two integers a , b , c , . . . , usually denoted by lcm( a , b , c , . . .) , is defined as the smallest positive integer that is ...
The process for subtracting fractions is, in essence, the same as that of adding them: find a common denominator, and change each fraction to an equivalent fraction with the chosen common denominator. The resulting fraction will have that denominator, and its numerator will be the result of subtracting the numerators of the original fractions.
The first step is to determine a common denominator D of these fractions – preferably the least common denominator, which is the least common multiple of the Q i. This means that each Q i is a factor of D, so D = R i Q i for some expression R i that is not a fraction. Then
The greatest common divisor g of a and b is the unique (positive) common divisor of a and b that is divisible by any other common divisor c. [6] The greatest common divisor can be visualized as follows. [7] Consider a rectangular area a by b, and any common divisor c that divides both a and b exactly.
A fraction that is reducible can be reduced by dividing both the numerator and denominator by a common factor. It can be fully reduced to lowest terms if both are divided by their greatest common divisor. [5] In order to find the greatest common divisor, the Euclidean algorithm or prime factorization can be used. The Euclidean algorithm is ...
gcd(a, b) is closely related to the least common multiple lcm(a, b): we have gcd(a, b)⋅lcm(a, b) = | a⋅b |. This formula is often used to compute least common multiples: one first computes the GCD with Euclid's algorithm and then divides the product of the given numbers by their GCD. The following versions of distributivity hold true:
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