Calculate the Greatest Common Factor or GCF of 12, 36 and 60
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The instructions to find the GCF of 12, 36 and 60 are the next:
1. Decompose all numbers into prime factors
| 12 | 2 |
| 6 | 2 |
| 3 | 3 |
| 1 |
| 36 | 2 |
| 18 | 2 |
| 9 | 3 |
| 3 | 3 |
| 1 |
| 60 | 2 |
| 30 | 2 |
| 15 | 3 |
| 5 | 5 |
| 1 |
2. Write all numbers as the product of its prime factors
| Prime factors of 12 | = | 22 . 3 |
| Prime factors of 36 | = | 22 . 32 |
| Prime factors of 60 | = | 22 . 3 . 5 |
3. Choose the common prime factors with the lowest exponent
Common prime factors: 2 , 3
Common prime factors with the lowest exponent: 22, 31
4. Calculate the Greatest Common Factor or GCF
Remember, to find the GCF of several numbers you must multiply the common prime factors with the lowest exponent.
GCF = 22. 31 = 12
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