GREATEST COMMON

FACTOR (GCF) and

LEAST COMMON
MULTIPLE (LCM)
ACRTOFS
ESMUTIL
P L
FACTORS
and

MULTIPLES
October 3 – 7 , 2021
Good day, mathlete! In this lesson, you are going to learn how to find
the common factors and greatest common factors of 2-4 numbers using
continuous division. These lessons will enrich your knowledge and skills
in the addition, multiplication and division of numbers.

At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:

Find the common factors and the GCF of 2 – 4 numbers using continuous
division.

Find the common multiples and the LCM of 2 – 4 numbers using

continuous division.

Solve real-life problem involving GCF and LCM of 2-3 given numbers.
 
 Key Words

Factors Multiples

a number that you the numbers you get

multiply with another when you multiply a
number to get a product. certain number. (Product)
 Factors
Examples:

a. ) 24 = 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 6 , 8 , 12 , 24 b. ) 36 = 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 6 , 9 , 12 , 18 , 36

1 x 24 1 x 36
2 x 12 2 x 18
3x8 3 x 12
4x6 4x9
6x4 6x6
8x3 9x4
12 x 2 12 x 3
24 x 1 18 x 2
36 x 1
 Multiples
Examples:

a. ) multiples of 6 b. ) multiples of 9
6 = 6 , 12 , 18, 24, 30 , 36 , 42 , 9 = 9 , 18 , 27 , 36 , 45 , 54 , 63 , 72,
48 , 54 , 60 , 66 81 , 90 , 99

1x6 = 6 1x9 =9
2 x 6 = 12 2x9 = 18
3 x 6 = 18 3x9 = 27
4 x 6 = 24 4x9 = 36
5 x 6 = 30 5x9 = 45
6 x 6 = 36 6x9 = 54
7 x 6 = 42 7x9 = 63
8 x 6 = 48 8x9 = 72
9 x 6 = 54 9x9 = 81
10 x 6 = 60 10 x 9 = 90
11 x 6 = 66 11 x 9 = 99
We have learned that there are three methods to
find the GCF or LCM of two numbers:
1. Listing all the factors of each number
2. Using factor trees
3. Using continuous division
When finding the GCF or LCM of large numbers, it is
easier to use the continuous division method.
This is because the first two methods may be tedious
and time-consuming.
 Greatest Common Factor (GCF)

A prime number is a whole number greater than 1 with only two factors, 1 and
itself. For example, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, and 13 are the first few prime numbers in the set
of whole numbers. Why? because 2 has only two factors like 1 and 2; 3 also has
two factors as 1 and 3; and so, as the other given prime numbers.

On the other hand, a composite number is a whole number greater than 1 with
more than two factors. For example, 4, 6, 8, 9, and 10 are some of the composite
numbers in the set of whole numbers. Why? because 4 has factors: 1, 2, and 4.
Number 6 has 4 factors: 1, 2, 3, and 6; and so as the other given numbers.

Factors are numbers you multiply together to get another number: 2 x 3 = 6

In the above example, 2 and 3 are the factors of 6. Likewise, 2 and 3 are also prime
numbers. Hence, we can call 2 and 3 as prime factors of 6.
 Greatest Common Factor (GCF)

Example: Express 120 as a product of prime

factors.
2 120
Solution: 120 = 2 x 60 2 60

= 2 x 2 x 30 2 30

= 2 x 2 x 2 x 15 3 15

=2x2x2x3x5    
5

Doing the above method is what we call prime factorization.

Therefore, the prime factorization of 120 is 2 x 2 x 2 x 3 x 5.
The prime factorization of a number is the product of prime
factors that make up that number.
 Greatest Common Factor (GCF)

A) Common Factors and Greatest Common Factors

Common factors are factors that are the same for two or more numbers.
Greatest Common factor (GCF) is the greatest number that is a factor of two or more
numbers.

Let me see if you still remember how to find the common factors and the GCF of two
numbers. Study the given example.

Find the common factors and the GCF of the following items.

Example: 12, 16, and 18

Factors of 12 : 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12
Factors of 16 : 1, 2, 4, 8, 16
Factors of 18 : 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 18
Common factors : 1 and 2
 Greatest Common Factor (GCF)

Find the common factors and GCF of the following:

a. ) 32 and 36
b. ) 21 and 54
c. ) 18 and 42

Solutions:

d. ) 32 and 36 b.) 21 and 54

Factors of 32: 1 , 2 , 4 , 8 , 16 , 32 Factors of 21: 1 , 3 , 7 , 21
Factors of 36: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 6 , 9 , 12 , 18 , 36 Factors of 54: 1 , 2 , 3 , 9 , 18, 27 , 54
Common Factors: 1 , 2 , 4 Common Factors: 1 , 3
GCF: 4 GCF: 3
c. ) 18 and 42
Factors of 18:1 , 2 , 3 , 6 , 9, 18
Factors of 42: 1 , 2 , 3 , 6 , 7 , 14 , 21 , 42
Common Factors: 1 , 2 , 3 , 6
GCF: 6
 Least Common Multiple (LCM)

B) Common multiple and Least Common Multiple

The multiple of a number is a number that can be divided by another number without a
remainder.
Study the given example.

Find the multiples of 4? Answers: 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, …
Why? This is because 4 ÷ 1 = 4,
8 ÷ 2 = 4,
12 ÷ 3 = 4,
16 ÷ 4 = 4,
20 ÷ 5 = 4,
24 ÷ 6 = 4, and so forth.
The least common multiple (LCM) of a set of numbers is the smallest non-zero
that is a multiple of all numbers in a set.
 Least Common Multiple (LCM)

Example: Find the LCM of 8 and 12.

Multiples of 8 = {8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48, 54, 60, …}

Multiples of 12 = {12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, …}

What numbers are found in both sets?

These are 24, 48, 60, and many more as you go on with
the list.

What is the smallest among these numbers? It’s 24.

Thus, the LCM of 8 and 12 is 24.
 Least Common Multiple (LCM)

Find the common multiples and LCM of each set of numbers.

a.) 7 and 21
b.) 4 , 8 and 12
c.) 8 , 16 and 20
Solutions:
a.) 7 and 21 c. ) 8 , 16 and 20
Multiples of 7: 7 , 14 , 21 , 28 , 35 , 42 Multiples of 8: 8 , 16 , 24 , 32 , 40 , 48 , 56 , 64 , 72 , 80
Multiples of 21: 21, 42 , 63 , 84 Multiples of 16: 16 , 32 , 48 , 64 , 80
Common Multiples: 21 , 42 Multiples of 20: 20 , 40 , 60 , 80 , 100
LCM: 21 Common Multiple/s:80
LCM: 80
b.) 4 , 8 and 12
Multiples of 4: 4 , 8 , 12 , 16 , 20 , 24 , 28 , 32 , 36
Multiples of 8: 8 , 16 , 24 , 32 , 40 , 48 , 56 , 64 , 72 , 80
Multiples of 12: 12 , 24 , 36 , 48
Common Multiple/s: 24
LCM: 24
 GCF and LCM (Continuous Division)

a.) Study the steps of the problem below.

Three pieces of ribbon measure 16 cm, 24 cm, and 40 cm, respectively. Mary wants to
cut them into strips of the same length. What is the largest possible length of each
strip?

Remember:
Steps in finding the GCF using continuous division:

1. Write the numbers horizontally and find a prime number that will divide all the
numbers, if possible.
2. Divide by that prime number and write the quotients below the dividends.
3. Continue the process until none of the numbers has a common prime divisor.

The GCF is the product of all the prime factors common to all the numbers given.
 GCF and LCM (Continuous Division)

GCF: 2 x 2 = 4
 GCF and LCM (Continuous Division)

Solutions:
2 8 , 16 , 20 arrange the numbers in horizontally
2 4 8 10 write the common prime divisor at the left side and the
2 2 4 5 quotients below the numbers. Repeat the process until
1 2 5 there is no common divisor left.

LCM = 2 x 2 x 2 x 1 x 2 x 5 = 80
 GCF and LCM (Continuous Division)

Example 1: Find the LCM of 45 and 60. Example 2: Find the LCM of 6 , 8 and 12

5 45 60 2 6 8 12
3 9 12 3 3 4 6
3 4 2 1 4 2
1 2 1

LCM: 5 x 3 x 3 x 4 = 180
LCM: 2 x 3 x 2 x 1 x 2 x 1 = 24
 Let’s Try…

A.Find the GCF and LCM of the following pairs of

numbers.

1.) 2 and 8
2.) 10 and 25
3.) 36 and 48
4.) 8 , 12 and 20
5.) 28 , 42 and 60