Calculate the Greatest Common Factor or GCF of 42, 63 and 231
Sponsors
The instructions to find the GCF of 42, 63 and 231 are the next:
1. Decompose all numbers into prime factors
| 42 | 2 |
| 21 | 3 |
| 7 | 7 |
| 1 |
| 63 | 3 |
| 21 | 3 |
| 7 | 7 |
| 1 |
| 231 | 3 |
| 77 | 7 |
| 11 | 11 |
| 1 |
2. Write all numbers as the product of its prime factors
| Prime factors of 42 | = | 2 . 3 . 7 |
| Prime factors of 63 | = | 32 . 7 |
| Prime factors of 231 | = | 3 . 7 . 11 |
3. Choose the common prime factors with the lowest exponent
Common prime factors: 3 , 7
Common prime factors with the lowest exponent: 31, 71
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 = 31. 71 = 21
Also calculates the: