Solving for the Greatest Common Factor of 28 and 24
In mathematics, the greatest common factor (GCF) is the highest factor shared by two or more numbers. When given two numbers like 28 and 24, finding their GCF can seem daunting at first. However, there are several methods that can be used to solve for the GCF of these two numbers.
One method is to list all the factors of each number and then find the highest factor that they both share. The factors of 24 are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 24. The factors of 28 are 1, 2, 4, 7, 14, and 28. From these lists, we can see that the highest factor that 24 and 28 share is 4. Therefore, the GCF of 28 and 24 is 4.
Another method for finding the GCF is to use prime factorization. To use this method, we need to find the prime factors of both numbers. The prime factors of 24 are 2, 2, 2, and 3. The prime factors of 28 are 2, 2, and 7. To find the GCF, we take the product of all the prime factors that the two numbers have in common. In this case, both 24 and 28 have two 2s in common. Therefore, the GCF of 28 and 24 is 2 x 2 = 4.
Finding the GCF of two numbers like 28 and 24 might initially seem like a difficult task, but with the right methods and techniques, it can be easily solved. Remember to use either the listing or prime factorization methods to find the highest factor that the two numbers share. In this case, we found that the GCF of 28 and 24 is 4.