FACTOR, COMMON FACTOR AND GREATEST COMMON FACTOR

BACKGROUND
1. Factor:
12 = 1 x 12 Then 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12 are all factors of 12
=2x6
=3x4

2. Common factor:
12 = 1 x 12 Then 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12 are all factors of 12
=2x6
=3x4

18 = 1 x 18 Then 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 18 are all factors of 18

=2x9
=3x6

Then 1, 2, 3, 6, are all common factors of 12 and 18.

3. Greatest (Highest) common factor (HCF)

We have 1, 2, 3, 6, are all common factors of 12 and 18.
And 6 is the greatest number among those numbers
So 6 is the HCF of 12 and 18
HCF (12, 18) = 6
• We can find HCF using factor tree

PRACTICE

1. FACTOR

Q1: Oliver is finding factor pairs of 42. Which number is missing from the table?

Q2: Which two of these numbers are factors of 46?

 • A 7 and 92
• B 3 and 46
• C 3 and 7
• D 3 and 92
• E 2 and 46

Q3: Is 6 a factor of 24?

• A Yes
• B No

Q4: Is 3 a factor of 43?

• A Yes
• B No

Q5: Find all the factors of 49.

• A 9 and 40
• B 20 and 29
• C 1, 9, 40, and 49
• D 1, 3, 7, 9, 40, and 49
• E 1, 7, and 49
Q6: We know that 3 × 6 = 18. Pick the true statement.
• A 3 is a multiple of 18.
• B 18 is a factor of 6.
• C 18 is a factor of 3.
• D 6 is a multiple of 18.
• E 3 is a factor of 18.

Q7: Fill in the blank: 5 is a ………………… of 50.

A factor B multiple

Q8: Which of these is NOT a factor pair for 36?

 • A 2 and 17
• B 6 (repeated factor)
• C 4 and 9
• D 1 and 36
• E 3 and 12

Q9: Sarah is learning how to find factor pairs for numbers. These are pairs of factors with a
given product. She makes arrays from 15 blocks to find the factors of 15.

She sees that 1 and 15 are a factor pair, because their product is 15. What is another factor
pair for 15?
• A 5 and 10
• B 2 and 7
• C 9 and 6
• D 7 and 8
• E 3 and 5

Q10: Erin is drawing factor rainbows to show all the factor pairs for 20. She writes the
factors in order from smallest to largest and draws an arc between each two factors in a
pair.

The green arc shows that 2 and 10 are a factor pair, since 2×10=20.
Now it is your turn. Which of the following is a factor rainbow showing all the factor pairs
of 24?

• A

• B

• C

• D

• E
 2. COMMON FACTOR
Q1: Which number is a factor of 12 and a factor of 33?

Q2: Which of the following numbers is not a common factor of 60 and 90?
• A3
• B 15
• C 13
• D 10
• E2
Q3: Find all the factors of the numbers 15 and 87.
• A 1,3,5,15,29,87
• B 1,3
• C 1,3,29
• D 1,3,5

Q4: Determine the common factors of the following set of numbers: 28, 72, 84.
• A 1, 2, 4
• B 1, 2, 4, 6
• C 2, 4
• D 1, 2, 4, 7, 14, 28
• E 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12

Q5: The diagram shows the three pairs of factors of the number 18. The first pair, 1 and 18,
is represented in A, showing 18 as 1×18 or 18×1.
 a) What pairs of factors do B and C represent?

• A B: 2 and 9, C:3 and 9

• B B: 2 and 9, C: 3 and 6
• C B:3 and 6, C:3 and 18
• D B:3 and 9, C:2 and 6
• E B: 2 and 18, C: 3 and 18

b) The diagrams show the pairs of factors of 12 as in the previous question

(left) and also using the area model of multiplication (right). What pairs of
factors of 12 do diagrams A, B, and C represent?

• A A: 2 and 6, B: 4 and 4, C :3 and 3

• B A: 2 and 10, B: 2 and 3, C: 3 and 4
• C A: 1 and 12, B: 2 and 6, C: 3 and 4
• D A: 2 and 10, B: 2 and 6, C: 6 and 6
• E A: 1 and 12, B: 2 and 3, C: 6 and 4

c) What are all the common factors of 12 and 18?

• A 1, 2, 3, and 4
• B 1, 2, 3, and 6
• C 1, 2, and 3
• D 2, 3, and 6
• E 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

d) What is the greatest common factor of 12 and 18?

 e) A gardener wants to plant 18 orange and 12 blue flowers in rows with the
same numbers of orange and blue flowers in each row. She thinks there are
four possibilities to do so. Is she right?

A yes B No

f) How many rows would she get in each of the four possibilities?

• A 1, 3, 4, or 5
• B 2, 3, 4, or 5
• C 1, 2, 3, or 4
• D 2, 3, 4, or 6
• E 1, 2, 3, or 6

g) The diagram represents the four possibilities using the four common factors
of 18 and 12. Which common factor leads to largest number of rows?

Q6: Erin claims that any two numbers have the common factor 1. Is she right?
A no B Yes

Q7: Sam claims that zero is a factor of only one number, which is the zero itself. Is this true?
A yes B No

Q8: Which of the following numbers is not a common factor of 36, 24, and 12?
• A6
• B 12
 • C3
• D4
• E8

Q9: Which of the following numbers have the common factors 1, 3, and 5?
• A 9,30,45
• B 9,15,30
• C 10,30,45
• D 9,10,15
• E 15,30,45

Q10: Which of the following numbers have the common factors 1, 3, and 5?
• A 8,15
• B 15,25
• C 20,30
• D 15,20
• E 15,30

3. GREATEST (HIGHEST COMMON FACTOR)

Q9: Which of the following choices represents three numbers whose greatest common
factor is 17?
• A 102, 204, 510
• B 119, 238, 357
• C 238, 204, 136
• D 357, 306, 204
• E 119, 102, 68

Q10: Find the GCF for 16 gallons, 24 gallons, 36 gallons, and 50 gallons.