What is the Greatest Common Factor of 38 and 42?

Greatest common factor (GCF) of 38 and 42 is 2.

GCF(38,42) = 2

We will now calculate the prime factors of 38 and 42, than find the greatest common factor (greatest common divisor (gcd)) of the numbers by matching the biggest common factor of 38 and 42.

How to find the GCF of 38 and 42?

We will first find the prime factorization of 38 and 42. After we will calculate the factors of 38 and 42 and find the biggest common factor number .

Step-1: Prime Factorization of 38

Prime factors of 38 are 2, 19. Prime factorization of 38 in exponential form is:

38 = 2¹ × 19¹

Step-2: Prime Factorization of 42

Prime factors of 42 are 2, 3, 7. Prime factorization of 42 in exponential form is:

42 = 2¹ × 3¹ × 7¹

Step-3: Factors of 38

List of positive integer factors of 38 that divides 38 without a remainder.

1, 2, 19

Step-4: Factors of 42

List of positive integer factors of 42 that divides 38 without a remainder.

1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 14, 21

Final Step: Biggest Common Factor Number

We found the factors and prime factorization of 38 and 42. The biggest common factor number is the GCF number.
So the greatest common factor 38 and 42 is 2.

Also check out the Least Common Multiple of 38 and 42