Greatest Common Divisor (GCD) of 26 and 72
The greatest common divisor (GCD) of 26 and 72 is 2.
What is the Greatest Common Divisor (GCD)?
The GCD of two integers is the largest positive integer that divides both numbers without leaving a remainder. It is useful in simplifying fractions, finding common factors, and in number theory.
How to Calculate the GCD of 26 and 72?
We use the Euclidean algorithm, which involves the following steps:
- Divide the larger number by the smaller number.
- Replace the larger number with the smaller number and the smaller number with the remainder from the division.
- Repeat this process until the remainder is zero.
- The non-zero remainder just before zero is the GCD.
Step-by-Step Euclidean Algorithm
| Step | Calculation |
|---|---|
| 1 | 26 ÷ 72 = 0 remainder 26 |
| 2 | 72 ÷ 26 = 2 remainder 20 |
| 3 | 26 ÷ 20 = 1 remainder 6 |
| 4 | 20 ÷ 6 = 3 remainder 2 |
| 5 | 6 ÷ 2 = 3 remainder 0 |
Examples of GCD Calculations
| Numbers | GCD |
|---|---|
| 168 and 162 | 6 |
| 170 and 125 | 5 |
| 95 and 54 | 1 |
| 180 and 159 | 3 |
| 30 and 111 | 3 |