GCF for 12, 18 and 60

"Greatest Common Factor of 3 Numbers" Calculator
Greatest Common Factor of
,
and

What's the Greatest Common Factor (GCF) of 12, 18 and 60?

Answer

GCF of 12, 18 and 60 is
6

(Six)

6 is the largest positive integer that divides 12, 18 and 60 without a remainder — every other common divisor of the three divides it too.

Finding the GCF of 12, 18 and 60 by Prime Factorization

Split all three numbers into prime factors, then keep every prime that appears in all three of them, each taken as many times as it appears in the poorest factorization. Multiplying what is left gives the greatest common factor:

All Prime Factors of 12: 2 × 2 × 3 (exponent form: 22 × 3)

All Prime Factors of 18: 2 × 3 × 3 (exponent form: 2 × 32)

All Prime Factors of 60: 2 × 2 × 3 × 5 (exponent form: 22 × 3 × 5)

Prime factor121860Lowest power
2222222
333233
55

GCF = 2 × 3 = 6

Checking the GCF of 12, 18 and 60 Two Numbers at a Time

The greatest common factor is associative, so three numbers can be handled as two pairs — and this is what makes the Euclidean algorithm usable here: run it on the first pair, then run it again on that result and the third number.

GCF(a, b, c) = GCF(GCF(a, b), c)

GCF(12, 18) = 6

GCF(6, 60) = 6

GCF(12, 18, 60) = 6

The answer checks out by division — all three quotients come out whole:

12 ÷ 6 = 2

18 ÷ 6 = 3

60 ÷ 6 = 10

2, 3 and 10 have no common factor left — that is what makes 6 the greatest one.

See Also

About "Greatest Common Factor of 3 Numbers" Calculator

This calculator finds the Greatest Common Factor (GCF) of three numbers at once, without doing it in two passes. For example, it can help you find out what's the Greatest Common Factor (GCF) of 12, 18 and 60? (The answer is: 6). Enter the first number (e.g. '12'), the second (e.g. '18') and the third (e.g. '60'), then hit the 'Calculate' button.
The Greatest Common Factor of three numbers — also called the greatest common divisor (GCD) or highest common factor (HCF) — is the largest positive integer that divides all three of them with zero remainder
"Greatest Common Factor of 3 Numbers" Calculator
Greatest Common Factor of
,
and

GCF Table

Number 1Number 2Number 3GCF
1218453
1218462
1218471
1218486
1218491
1218502
1218513
1218522
1218531
1218546
1218551
1218562
1218573
1218582
1218591
1218606
1218611
1218622
1218633
1218642
1218651
1218666
1218671
1218682
1218693
1218702
1218711
1218726
1218731
1218742

FAQ

What's the Greatest Common Factor (GCF) of 12, 18 and 60?

GCF of 12, 18 and 60 is 6

What prime factors do 12, 18 and 60 share?

All three factorizations contain 2 × 3, and multiplying those shared primes gives 6 — exactly the greatest common factor.

Can you get the GCF of 12, 18 and 60 two numbers at a time?

Yes, and it is the check this page prints. The GCF of 12 and 18 is 6, and the GCF of 6 and 60 is 6 — the same answer, because the greatest common factor is associative and does not depend on the order of the three numbers.

How does the GCF simplify the ratio 12 : 18 : 60?

Divide every term by the GCF 6: 12 ÷ 6 = 2, 18 ÷ 6 = 3 and 60 ÷ 6 = 10. So 12 : 18 : 60 in lowest terms is 2 : 3 : 10, and no whole number other than 1 divides all three of those.