What is the greatest common factor of 42 and 50?
Understand the Problem
The question is asking for the greatest common factor (GCF) between the two numbers: 42 and 50. The GCF is the largest positive integer that divides both numbers without leaving a remainder.
Answer
The GCF of 42 and 50 is $2$.
Answer for screen readers
The greatest common factor (GCF) of 42 and 50 is $2$.
Steps to Solve
- List the factors of each number
Start by finding all the factors of 42 and 50.
- Factors of 42: 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 14, 21, 42
- Factors of 50: 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50
- Identify the common factors
Next, identify the factors that both numbers share.
Common factors of 42 and 50 are: 1 and 2.
- Determine the greatest common factor
Finally, from the common factors, choose the largest one.
The greatest common factor (GCF) is: 2.
The greatest common factor (GCF) of 42 and 50 is $2$.
More Information
The greatest common factor is useful in many areas of math, such as simplifying fractions, finding least common multiples, and solving problems involving ratios.
Tips
- Forgetting to list all factors, which can lead to missing some common factors.
- Confusing GCF with least common multiple (LCM), which are two different concepts.