Calculate the greatest (highest) common factor (divisor)
gcf, hcf, gcd (4,710; 7,708) = ?
Method 1. The prime factorization:
The prime factorization of a number: finding the prime numbers that multiply together to make that number.
4,710 = 2 × 3 × 5 × 157
4,710 is not a prime number but a composite one.
7,708 = 22 × 41 × 47
7,708 is not a prime number but a composite one.
- Prime number: a natural number that is only divisible by 1 and itself. A prime number has exactly two factors: 1 and itself.
- Composite number: a natural number that has at least one other factor than 1 and itself.
Calculate the greatest (highest) common factor (divisor):
Multiply all the common prime factors, taken by their smallest exponents (the smallest powers).
Step 1. Divide the larger number by the smaller one:
7,708 ÷ 4,710 = 1 + 2,998
Step 2. Divide the smaller number by the above operation's remainder:
4,710 ÷ 2,998 = 1 + 1,712
Step 3. Divide the remainder of the step 1 by the remainder of the step 2:
2,998 ÷ 1,712 = 1 + 1,286
Step 4. Divide the remainder of the step 2 by the remainder of the step 3:
1,712 ÷ 1,286 = 1 + 426
Step 5. Divide the remainder of the step 3 by the remainder of the step 4:
1,286 ÷ 426 = 3 + 8
Step 6. Divide the remainder of the step 4 by the remainder of the step 5:
426 ÷ 8 = 53 + 2
Step 7. Divide the remainder of the step 5 by the remainder of the step 6:
8 ÷ 2 = 4 + 0
At this step, the remainder is zero, so we stop:
2 is the number we were looking for - the last non-zero remainder.
This is the greatest (highest) common factor (divisor).
The greatest (highest) common factor (divisor):
gcf, hcf, gcd (4,710; 7,708) = 2
The two numbers have common prime factors