What is the first step in finding the greatest common factor (GCF) of two numbers using prime factorization?

Find the prime factorization of each number.

Determine the prime factorization of 36 and 54. List the prime factors for each number.

36: 2 x 2 x 3 x 3; 54: 2 x 3 x 3 x 3

Identify the common prime factors and multiply them together.

I can determine the greatest common factor of two numbers by using prime factorization.

1
The greatest common factor, also known as the GCF, can be found using prime factorization.
2
To find the GCF of two numbers using prime factorization, first find the prime factorization of both numbers, then identify the common prime factors, and finally multiply those common prime factors.
3
The GCF of 48 and 72 is 24 because they have three factors of 2 and one factor of 3 in common (2 x 2 x 2 x 3 = 24).