To find the highest common factor (HCF) of two or more numbers, you can identify the common prime factors and multiply them together.
Here's a breakdown of the process, based on the provided video snippet:
- Prime Factorization: Find the prime factors of each number.
- Identify Common Factors: Identify the prime factors that are common to all the numbers.
- Multiply Common Factors: Multiply the common prime factors together. The result is the HCF.
Example:
Let's say you want to find the HCF of two numbers. Imagine the prime factors have already been extracted as follows (as demonstrated in the video extract):
- Number 1: 2 x 2 x 7
- Number 2: 2 x 3 x 7
The common prime factors are 2 and 7.
Multiply these common factors: 2 x 7 = 14.
Therefore, the HCF is 14.
In summary, prime factorization followed by identifying and multiplying common prime factors efficiently yields the HCF.
