For any integers a and b with HCF (a, b) = 1, what is HCF (a + b, a - b) equal to?
Correct Answer: Either 1 or 2
Explanation:
Putting arbitrary values of a and b. IIIustration 1:
Let a = 9 and b = 8
HCF (8 + 9, 9 - 8)
HCF (17, 1) = 1 IIIustration 2:
Let a = 23 and b =17
HCF (17 + 23, 23 -17)
HCF ( 40, 6) = 2 Hence, HCF (a + b, a - b) can either be 1 or 2.