What is the Greatest Common Factor of 72 and 87?
Greatest common factor (GCF) of 72 and 87 is 3.
GCF(72,87) = 3
We will now calculate the prime factors of 72 and 87, than find the greatest common factor (greatest common divisor (gcd)) of the numbers by matching the biggest common factor of 72 and 87.
How to find the GCF of 72 and 87?
We will first find the prime factorization of 72 and 87. After we will calculate the factors of 72 and 87 and find the biggest common factor number .
Step-1: Prime Factorization of 72
Prime factors of 72 are 2, 3. Prime factorization of 72 in exponential form is:
72 = 23 × 32
Step-2: Prime Factorization of 87
Prime factors of 87 are 3, 29. Prime factorization of 87 in exponential form is:
87 = 31 × 291
Step-3: Factors of 72
List of positive integer factors of 72 that divides 72 without a remainder.
1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36
Step-4: Factors of 87
List of positive integer factors of 87 that divides 72 without a remainder.
1, 3, 29
Final Step: Biggest Common Factor Number
We found the factors and prime factorization of 72 and 87. The biggest common factor number is the GCF number.
So the greatest common factor 72 and 87 is 3.
Also check out the Least Common Multiple of 72 and 87