Examples
−2x+4xyz
Step 1
Since −2x,4xyz contains both numbers and variables, there are two steps to find the GCF (HCF). Find GCF for the numeric part, then find GCF for the variable part.
Steps to find the GCF for −2x,4xyz:
1. Find the GCF for the numerical part −2,4
2. Find the GCF for the variable part x1,x1,y1,z1
3. Multiply the values together
Step 2
Find the common factors for the numerical part:
−2,4
Step 3
Step 3.1
The factors for −2 are all numbers between 1 and 2, which divide −2 evenly.
Check numbers between 1 and 2
Step 3.2
Find the factor pairs of −2 where x⋅y=−2.
xy12
Step 3.3
List the factors for −2.
1,2
1,2
Step 4
Step 4.1
The factors for 4 are all numbers between 1 and 4, which divide 4 evenly.
Check numbers between 1 and 4
Step 4.2
Find the factor pairs of 4 where x⋅y=4.
xy1422
Step 4.3
List the factors for 4.
1,2,4
1,2,4
Step 5
List all the factors for −2,4 to find the common factors.
−2: 1,2
4: 1,2,4
Step 6
The common factors for −2,4 are 1,2.
1,2
Step 7
The GCF for the numerical part is 2.
GCFNumerical=2
Step 8
Next, find the common factors for the variable part:
x,x,y,z
Step 9
The factor for x1 is x itself.
x
Step 10
The factor for y1 is y itself.
y
Step 11
The factor for z1 is z itself.
z
Step 12
List all the factors for x1,x1,y1,z1 to find the common factors.
x1=x
x1=x
y1=y
z1=z
Step 13
The common factor for the variables x1,x1,y1,z1 is x.
x
Step 14
The GCF for the variable part is x.
GCFVariable=x
Step 15
Multiply the GCF of the numerical part 2 and the GCF of the variable part x.
2x