The same ideas of GCD and LCM that we used with numbers apply to polynomials as well, once we know how to factorise them.
Property — GCD and LCM
To calculate the GCD and LCM of two or more polynomials (or numbers):
- Factorise each element into irreducible (or prime) factors.
- GCD: product of the common factors with the lower exponent.
- LCM: product of all the factors with the higher exponent.
Links
Topics: Algebraic calculation
Concepts: GCD · LCM · Factorisation
Skills: Calculating