FIND  GCD for m and n

 

·       Euclid algorithm

 

//Assume m>= n

GCD( m,n)

{

    If (n = 0)

         return m

     else

         return GCD( m, n mod n)

}

 

·        CONSECUTIVE INTEGER CHECKING for computing gcd(m,n)

 

       (step1)                      t =  min{m,n}

 

 (step2)                      If    (m mod t = 0)

                                  {

                                       If (n mod t = 0)  

                                             Return t;

                                       Else

                                                  {Decrease t by 1;  Go to step 2}

 

                                  }

                                  else

                                                  {Decrease t by 1;  Go to step 2}

 

·        MIDDLE SCHOOL PROCEDURE (not an algorithm yet) to determine gcd(m,n)

1. Find prime factors of m

2. Find prime factors of n

3. Identify all the common prime factors for both  numbers.

  If  p   appears  3 times in m, and appears 5 times in n,  factor p should be taken 3  times ( or minimum of the number of times in each of the two)

      4. Return  the product of all the common factors.

 

Find GCD(70,    42)

 

70  = 2 * 5 * 7                                    GCD = 14

            42  = 2 * 3 * 7