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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.
A multiple of a number is the product of that number and an integer. For example, 10 is a multiple of 5 because 5 × 2 = 10, so 10 is divisible by 5 and 2. Because 10 is the smallest positive integer that is divisible by both 5 and 2, it is the least common multiple of 5 and 2.
However, the general definitions remain valid in the more abstract setting of order theory where arbitrary partially ordered sets are considered. The concepts of infimum and supremum are close to minimum and maximum, but are more useful in analysis because they better characterize special sets which may have no minimum or maximum.
For example, 5 is a lower bound for the set S = {5, 8, 42, 34, 13934} (as a subset of the integers or of the real numbers, etc.), and so is 4. On the other hand, 6 is not a lower bound for S since it is not smaller than every element in S. 13934 and other numbers x such that x ≥ 13934 would be an upper bound for S.
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 ...
In mathematics, the least-upper-bound property (sometimes called completeness, supremum property or l.u.b. property) [1] is a fundamental property of the real numbers. More generally, a partially ordered set X has the least-upper-bound property if every non-empty subset of X with an upper bound has a least upper bound (supremum) in X .
For example, if a bounded differentiable function f defined on a closed interval in the real line has a single critical point, which is a local minimum, then it is also a global minimum (use the intermediate value theorem and Rolle's theorem to prove this by contradiction). In two and more dimensions, this argument fails.
Example 3: In the fence < > < > < > …, all the are minimal and all are maximal, as shown in the image. Example 4: Let A be a set with at least two elements and let S = { { a } : a ∈ A } {\displaystyle S=\{\{a\}~:~a\in A\}} be the subset of the power set ℘ ( A ) {\displaystyle \wp (A)} consisting of singleton subsets , partially ordered by ...