Question

Find the greatest common factor of the numbers.

120, 960

Short answer

The greatest common factor is 120.

Step-by-step solution

Step-1 – Define greatest common factor

A common factor is a whole number that is a factor of two or more nonzero whole numbers. The greatest of the common factors is the greatest common factor (GCF).

Step-2 – Factor the numbers

Factor both the numbers 120 and 960.

The factors of 120 are: $120=2\times 2\times 2\times 3\times 5$

The factors of 960 are: $960=2\times 2\times 2\times 2\times 2\times 2\times 3\times 5$

Step-3 – State the conclusion

From the factorization it can be observed that $2\times 2\times 2\times 3\times 5$ is common in both the numbers, therefore, the greatest common factor is 120.