Sets and GCF of Two Numbers
The Greatest Common Factor of two positive integers a and b:
- is denoted as GCF(a, b)
- is the largest positive integer among the common divisors of a and b
- is always a number smaller than or equal to the smallest number between a and b
To find the GCF of two positive integers a and b:
- write the prime factorization of a and b
- multiply together all the common factors of the two numbers, each taken once and with its minimum exponent.
Enter two numbers in the app below, and explore the Euler-Venn representation of their factors and their greatest common factor.
How would you define the colored area of the diagram above, from a sets point of view?
Edit Credits
Auston Cron edited HCF to GCF to match USA notations. Simona Siva did the hard work.