Question

Find the greatest common factor of the numbers. 14 and 18

Short answer

The greatest common factor of 14 and 18 is 2.

Step-by-step solution

Find prime factors of each number

Prime factorization is breaking down a number into its base prime factors. For 14: 14 = 2 × 7. The prime factors are 2 and 7. For 18: 18 = 2 × 3 × 3. The prime factors are 2, 3 and 3.

Identify common prime factors

Comparing the prime factors of each number as obtained in step 1, the common factor is 2.

Calculate the GCF

The GCF is the product of all the common prime factors. Therefore, the GCF of 14 and 18 is 2 since 2 is the only common prime factor.