Greatest Common Factor of 972 and 168
GCF(972, 168) = 12, Greatest common factor of 972 and 168 is 12. Greatest Common Factor or Greatest Common Divisor of two numbers is the largest integer by which both the numbers can be divided. There are two different methods to calculate Greatest Common Factor of 972 and 168. Greatest Common Factor by prime factorization method and Greatest Common Factor by matching factors method.
Greatest Common Factor of 972 and 168 by prime factorization method
We will first find the prime factorization of 972 and 168.
Prime Factorization of 972 is 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 and Prime Factorization of 168 is 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 7.
- Factorize\( (972) = \) \(1\times 2\times 2\times 3\times 3\times 3\times 3\times 3\)
- Factorize\( (168) = \) \(1\times 2\times 2\times 2\times 3\times 7\)
Now we need to find any which are common for each number (1, 2, 2, 3) and multiply these numbers together.
\(GCF(972, 168) = 1\times 2\times 2\times 3 = 12\).
Greatest Common Factor of 972 and 168 by matching factors method
List of positive integers factors of 972 leaving a remainder zero is 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 18, 27, 36, 54, 81, 108, 162, 243, 324, 486, 972
List of positive integers factors of 168 leaving a remainder zero is 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 12, 14, 21, 24, 28, 42, 56, 84, 168
As you can see, 12 is the greatest and common number that 972 and 168 divides into.
So the greatest common factor 972 and 168 is 12.
\(GCF(972, 168) = 12\).
If you want to learn more about greatest common divisor, take a look at the Wikipedia page.
