8
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Finding the greatest common factor with prime factorization
Step-by-step explanation
1. Find the prime factors of 32
The prime factors of 32 are 2, 2, 2, 2 and 2.
2. Find the prime factors of 56
The prime factors of 56 are 2, 2, 2 and 7.
3. Find the prime factors of 72
The prime factors of 72 are 2, 2, 2, 3 and 3.
4. Find the prime factors of 88
The prime factors of 88 are 2, 2, 2 and 11.
5. Identify the common prime factors
Identify which of the prime factors all of the original numbers have in common:
Number | Prime factors |
32 | |
56 | |
72 | |
88 |
The common prime factors are 2, 2 and 2
6. Calculate the GCF
The greatest common factor is equal to the product of the prime factors that all of the original numbers have in common.
GCF =
GCF =
GCF = 8
The greatest common factor of 32, 56, 72 and 88 is 8.
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Why learn this
The common tasks of dividing, grouping, and distributing are applicable across an unlimited number of scenarios. Dividing a chocolate bar with ten squares among eight people; figuring out how much work each member of your project group should do; cutting squares out of a piece of cloth so there is none left over. These everyday actions all deal heavily with fractions, and to deal with fractions is to deal with greatest common factors (GCF).
The greatest common factor, which is sometimes referred to as the highest common factor (HCF) or the greatest common divisor (GCD), is the largest positive integer that a set of integers can all be divided by. Since fractions are commonly used in everyday life, and GCFs help us understand fractions, then, GCF can be helpful for understanding a wide variety of situations. For example, finding the GCF of a numerator and denominator can help us simplify very large fractions or ratios into smaller, more manageable numbers.