How do u find the GCF with exponets in a 7th gr. pre alg. class?
list the factors of both numbers, then find the largest one that they both have.
To find the Greatest Common Factor (GCF) with exponents in a 7th grade pre-algebra class, follow these steps:
Step 1: Write down the prime factorization of each number.
- For example, if you are finding the GCF of 12 and 18, you would write them as 2^2 * 3 and 2 * 3^2, respectively.
Step 2: Identify the common prime factors.
- In this example, the common prime factors are 2 and 3.
Step 3: Find the lowest exponent for each common prime factor.
- Since 2 appears as 2^2 in the prime factorization of 12 and as 2 in the prime factorization of 18, we take the lowest exponent, which is 2.
- Similarly, for the common prime factor 3, we take the lowest exponent, which is 1.
Step 4: Multiply the common prime factors with their lowest exponent.
- Multiply the common prime factors (2 and 3) by their lowest exponents (2 and 1) together: 2^2 * 3^1 = 4 * 3 = 12.
Therefore, the GCF of 12 and 18 with exponents is 12.