Toolkit 79

Calculate gcd(a,b)

Use the following example: gcd(2n+3,5n4)=d\gcd(2n+3,\,5n-4)=d.

Since d2n+3d\mid 2n+3, multiply by 55:  d10n+15\ d\mid 10n+15.

Since d5n4d\mid 5n-4, multiply by 22:  d10n8\ d\mid 10n-8.

Subtracting gives d23d\mid 23, so d=1d=1 or 2323.

At the end, we should find at least one value of nn for each possible value of dd to prove that the value of dd is reachable.

Examples:  n=1: gcd(5,1)=1;n=10: gcd(23,46)=23\ n=1:\ \gcd(5,1)=1;\qquad n=10:\ \gcd(23,46)=23.