Q. Find the smallest pair of 4-digit numbers such that the difference between them is 303 and their HCF is 101. Show your steps.
Identify Numbers: Since the HCF of the two numbers is 101, both numbers must be multiples of 101. Let's denote the smaller number as 101a and the larger number as 101b, where a and b are integers.
Set Up Equation: The difference between the two numbers is given as 303, which is also a multiple of 101 (since 303=101×3). We can set up the equation 101b−101a=303 to find the relationship between a and b.
Solve for Relationship: Dividing both sides of the equation by 101, we get b−a=3. This means that the two integers a and b must be 3 units apart.
Find Smallest a: Since we are looking for the smallest 4-digit numbers, we want to find the smallest possible value for a such that 101a is a 4-digit number. The smallest 4-digit number is 1000, so we need to find the smallest integer a such that 101a≥1000.
Calculate Minimum a: Dividing 1000 by 101, we get approximately 9.9. Since a must be an integer, the smallest possible value for a that makes 101a a 4-digit number is 10.
Determine Values of a and b: Now that we have a=10, we can find b by adding 3 to a, giving us b=10+3=13.
Calculate Numbers: The two numbers are therefore 101a=101×10=1010 and 101b=101×13=1313.
Verify Solution: We check that the difference between the two numbers is 1313−1010=303, which matches the condition given in the problem.