GCF of 6 and 9

Find the Greatest Common Factor (GCF) of 6 and 9 with a complete step-by-step solution. The GCF is the largest number that divides both numbers without leaving a remainder.

GCF of and
Answer: GCF(6, 9) = 3
Step-by-Step Solution
Step 1 Find the Factors of 6

To find the GCF of 6 and 9, we first need to find all factors of each number.

The factors of 6 are numbers that divide 6 evenly:


1 × 6 = 6, 2 × 3 = 6

Factors of 6: 1, 2, 3, 6

Step 2 Find the Factors of 9

Now we find all factors of 9:


1 × 9 = 9, 3 × 3 = 9

Factors of 9: 1, 3, 9

Step 3 Find the Common Factors

The common factors are numbers that appear in both lists:


Factors of 6: 1, 2, 3, 6

Factors of 9: 1, 3, 9


Common factors: 1, 3


The Greatest Common Factor is the largest of these: 3

Step 4 Prime Factorization Method

We can also find the GCF using prime factorization:


6 = 2 × 3
9 = 3^2

Take the common prime factors with the lowest powers:

GCF = 3 = 3
Step 5 Euclidean Algorithm

The Euclidean algorithm is a fast way to find the GCF using repeated division:


9 = 1 × 6 + 3
6 = 2 × 3 + 0

When the remainder is 0, the GCF is the last divisor: 3

Step 6 Final Answer

GCF(6, 9) = 3