SOLUTION: What is the greatest common factor? How do you know when you have found the greatest one?

Question 750790: What is the greatest common factor? How do you know when you have found the greatest one?
Answer by timvanswearingen(106) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
You find all the prime factors for each number. These are called factor trees, hopefully you know how to do one. Then, whichever they have in common, you multiply them together to get the GCF. For example, let's use 24 and 60.

Now, let's do 60:

We have found the prime factorizations of both numbers. They each have 2 factors of 2 and they each have 1 factor of 3.
So the GCF is: 2*2*3=12. 12 is the GCF
RELATED QUESTIONS
How do you factor the greatest common monomial... (answered by solver91311)

I'm not sure how to find the greatest common factor of a polynomial. What is the greatest (answered by stanbon,richwmiller,solver91311)

26,65 what is the greatest common factor (answered by venugopalramana)

1+1/y How do I do this problem? I know that I have to use the ----- (answered by checkley71)

How do I factor this problem? 3x^3-21x^2+30x I know I have to take out the greatest (answered by checkley71)

How do you get the greatest common factor of 3a^2bx + 15cx^2y +... (answered by Alan3354)

How do you get the greatest common factor of 6a^2b +... (answered by Alan3354)

how do you find the greatest common factor of 36,48,50 how do you use a prime number in... (answered by jim_thompson5910)

What is the greatest common factor (GCF) of 48 and 36 I know it's 12 but how do you... (answered by richwmiller)