Choose two distinct positive integers for a
and b, below. Highlight the right-hand side
and type your choice. The steps of the classical Euclidean
algorithm for finding the greatest common divisor (GCD) of a and b
are displayed. To see that you might need all
the room provided, try a = 6557470319842 and b
= 4052739537881. The actual steps of
Euclid's method are not as important as an expression for
the GCD in terms of your two
numbers a and b. Scroll down to see
this.
No support for LM Objects
The GCD can be expressed in terms of a and b
in infinitely many ways, two of which are shown
below. Here, your choice of a and b
cannot be quite as large as in the demonstration, above,
where all the steps are shown. Experiment to see what is
possible. If question marks appear,
exchange the values of a and b.