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In mathematics, a multiple is the product of any quantity and an integer. [1] In other words, for the quantities a and b, it can be said that b is a multiple of a if b = na for some integer n, which is called the multiplier. If a is not zero, this is equivalent to saying that / is an integer.
The divisors of 10 illustrated with Cuisenaire rods: 1, 2, 5, and 10. In mathematics, a divisor of an integer , also called a factor of , is an integer that may be multiplied by some integer to produce . [1] In this case, one also says that is a multiple of .
A least common multiple of a and b is a common multiple that is minimal, in the sense that for any other common multiple n of a and b, m divides n. In general, two elements in a commutative ring can have no least common multiple or more than one. However, any two least common multiples of the same pair of elements are associates. [10]
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:
In mathematics, the fundamental theorem of arithmetic, also called the unique factorization theorem and prime factorization theorem, states that every integer greater than 1 can be represented uniquely as a product of prime numbers, up to the order of the factors. [3] [4] [5] For example,
Continuing this process until every factor is prime is called prime factorization; the result is always unique up to the order of the factors by the prime factorization theorem. To factorize a small integer n using mental or pen-and-paper arithmetic, the simplest method is trial division : checking if the number is divisible by prime numbers 2 ...
where is the th successive prime number, and all omitted terms (a 22 to a 228) are factors with exponent equal to one (i.e. the number is ). More concisely, it is the product of seven distinct primorials:
lcm(m, n) (least common multiple of m and n) is the product of all prime factors of m or n (with the largest multiplicity for m or n). gcd(m, n) × lcm(m, n) = m × n. Finding the prime factors is often harder than computing gcd and lcm using other algorithms which do not require known prime factorization.