Originally posted by Eli:
Originally posted by SVTour98:
Hoping you guys can help me out here, I have a math problem that I cannot figure out for the life of me! And I'm sure most of you guys will know it in a heartbeat...

"True or false? If true, give a justification (not just an example). If false, give a counterexample. Assume a, b, and c are natural numbers.

part 1) If "a" is a factor of "b" then GCF (a,b) = a



true

this one's not too bad if you think about it. think about exactly what you're saying when you say GCF - "greatest factor." how can "a" have a factor thats bigger than itself?

Quote:


part 2) If GCF (a,b) = x and GCF (a,c) = x, then b = c "




false

a = 12
b = 9
c = 3



whoa, I didn't read either of those right! I looked at #1 and I didn't see the part that a was a factor of b
#1 true

For #2:

What if a=6, b=3, c=3
Then b=x=c
It makes the two exactly the same equation, which doesn't seem right. It looks like they intend it to be two different equations, but the only time number two is true is if b=c. Maybe they're just trying to trick the student or make you think

So I guess they are both true in this case?

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