Find the HCF of 36 72

Answer 1

To find the highest common factor (HCF) of 36 and 72, we can list the factors of each number and then identify the largest common factor.

Factors of 36:

• 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 18, 36

Factors of 72:

• 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 72

Now, let's identify the common factors:

• Common factors: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 18, 36

The highest common factor is 36.

You can also find the HCF using the prime factorization method:

1. Prime factorization of 36:

   • 36 = 2^2 × 3^2

2. Prime factorization of 72:

   • 72 = 2^3 × 3^2

3. Taking the lowest power of the common prime factors:

   • For 2, the lowest power is 2 (from \(2^2\)).
   • For 3, the lowest power is 2 (from \(3^2\)).

So, HCF = \(2^2 × 3^2 = 4 × 9 = 36\).

Thus, the HCF of 36 and 72 is 36.