How to find the greatest common factor

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SAT Math › How to find the greatest common factor

Questions 1 - 10
1

What's the greatest common factor of 6 and 8?

Explanation

Greatest common factor is a common factor shared by two or more numbers. Both numbers are even, so let's divide both numbers by two. We get . These are prime numbers (factors of one and itsef) in which we are done. Anytime we have two prime numbers or one prime and one composite number, we are finished. So the greatest common factor is .

2

What's the greatest common factor of 4 and 8?

Explanation

Greatest common factor is a common factor shared by two or more numbers. is a multiple of , so let's divide for both numbers. We get . We are finished as these are the basic numbers. So the greatest common factor is .

3

What's the greatest common factor of 19 and 27?

Explanation

Greatest common factor is a common factor shared by two or more numbers. is a prime number. is a composite number. Since we have a prime and composite number, the greatest common factor is .

4

What's the greatest common factor of 24 and 74?

Explanation

Greatest common factor is a common factor shared by two or more numbers. Both numbers are even, so let's divide two for both numbers. We get . We have one prime and one composite number, so we are finished. The greatest common factor is .

5

If is divisible by 2, 3 and 15, which of the following is also divisible by these numbers?

Explanation

Since v is divisible by 2, 3 and 15, v must be a multiple of 30. Any number that is divisible by both 2 and 15 must be divisible by their product, 30, since this is the least common multiple.

Out of all the answer choices, v + 30 is the only one that equals a multiple of 30.

6

Suppose that is an integer such that is ten greater than . What is the value of ?

Explanation

We are given information that m/4 is 10 greater than m/3. We set up an equation where m/4 = m/3 + 10.

We must then give the m variables a common denominator in order to solve for m. Since 3 * 4 = 12, we can use 12 as our denominator for both m variables.

m/4 = m/3 + 10 (Multiply m/4 by 3 in the numerator and denominator.)

3m/12 = m/3 + 10 (Multiply m/3 by 4 in the numerator and denominator.)

3m/12 = 4m/12 + 10 (Subtract 4m/12 on both sides.)

-m/12 = 10 (Multiply both sides by -12.)

m = -120

-120/4 = -30 and -120/3 = -40. -30 is 10 greater than -40.

7

What's the greatest common factor of 55 and 80?

Explanation

These two numbers are definitely divisible by . When we divide both numbers by , we get and remaining. Since we have a combination of a prime and composite number, then we can't find any more factors. Our answer is .

8

What's the greatest common factor of 81 and 27?

Explanation

Let's do some divisibility rules. For , the sum of the digits must be divisible by .

We have:

They are both good so when we divide both numbers by , we get . Lastly they are both divisible by . So we multiply both factors to get an answer of .

9

What's the greatest common factor of 2, 6, 9, and 10?

Explanation

Greatest common factor involves all the numbers in the set. Even though three of the numbers are divisble by , isn't. The only factor that satisfies all the numbers is .

10

Find the greatest common factor of and .

Explanation

The key here is to find the prime factorizations of both numbers and multiplying the common prime factors together:

Both prime factorizations have in common, so is our answer.

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