To reduce a rational number to its standard form, we divide its numerator and denominator by their

Options

A. LCM
B. HCF
C. product
D. multiple

Answer

To reduce a rational number to its standard form, we follow these steps:

1. **Identify the Rational Number**: Let's denote the rational number as \( \frac{p}{q} \), where \( p \) is the numerator and \( q \) is the denominator.

2. **Find the HCF**: Calculate the Highest Common Factor (HCF) of the numerator \( p \) and the denominator \( q \). The HCF is the largest number that divides both \( p \) and \( q \) without leaving a remainder.

3. **Divide by the HCF**: Once you have the HCF, divide both the numerator and the denominator by this HCF. This means you will compute:
\[ \frac{p}{\text{HCF}(p, q)} \quad \text{and} \quad \frac{q}{\text{HCF}(p, q)} \]

4. **Write the Standard Form**: After dividing, you will get a new fraction \( \frac{p'}{q'} \) where \( p' \) and \( q' \) are the results from the previous step. This fraction is now in its standard form, meaning that the only common factor between \( p' \) and \( q' \) is 1.

5. **Conclusion**: Therefore, to reduce a rational number to its standard form, we divide its numerator and denominator by their HCF.

### Final Answer:
To reduce a rational number to its standard form, we divide its numerator and denominator by their **HCF** (Highest Common Factor).

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