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Question

Find the HCF of $12 \times 15, 15 \times 21, 21 \times 12$

This question was previously asked in
RRB NTPC 2019 CBT 1 Question Paper PDF (31-Jan-2021) (Shift 1)
The correct answer is
9

Finding HCF of Products: 12x15, 15x21, 21x12

To find the Highest Common Factor (HCF) of the given products, we first express each product in terms of its prime factors.

  1. First Product:

    $12 \times 15 = (2^2 \times 3) \times (3 \times 5) = 2^2 \times 3^2 \times 5$

  2. Second Product:

    $15 \times 21 = (3 \times 5) \times (3 \times 7) = 3^2 \times 5 \times 7$

  3. Third Product:

    $21 \times 12 = (3 \times 7) \times (2^2 \times 3) = 2^2 \times 3^2 \times 7$

Identifying Common Prime Factors

Now, we identify the prime factors that are common to all three prime factorizations and the lowest power of each common factor.

  • The prime factor 2 appears in the first and third products ($2^2$), but not the second.
  • The prime factor 3 appears in all three products as $3^2$.
  • The prime factor 5 appears in the first and second products, but not the third.
  • The prime factor 7 appears in the second and third products, but not the first.

The only prime factor common to all three expressions is 3, and its lowest power across all is $3^2$.

Calculating the HCF

The HCF is the product of the common prime factors raised to their lowest powers.

HCF = $3^2 = 9$

Therefore, the HCF of $12 \times 15, 15 \times 21, 21 \times 12$ is 9.

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Important Questions from LCM and HCF

  1. The HCF and LCM of two numbers are 12 and 72, respectively. If the ratio of the two numbers is 2 ∶ 3, then the larger of the two numbers is:

  2. Find the greatest number that will divide 43, 91 and 183 so as to leave the same remainder in each case.

  3. Joseph visits the club on every 5 th day, Harsh visits on every 24 th day, while Sumit visits on every 9 th day. If all three of them met at the club on a Sunday, then on which day will all three of them meet again?

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  5. Which of the following is a pair of co-primes?

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