Greatest Common Divisor (GCD) of 42 and 37
The greatest common divisor (GCD) of 42 and 37 is 1.
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 42 and 37?
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 | 42 ÷ 37 = 1 remainder 5 |
| 2 | 37 ÷ 5 = 7 remainder 2 |
| 3 | 5 ÷ 2 = 2 remainder 1 |
| 4 | 2 ÷ 1 = 2 remainder 0 |
Examples of GCD Calculations
| Numbers | GCD |
|---|---|
| 158 and 33 | 1 |
| 36 and 195 | 3 |
| 13 and 186 | 1 |
| 120 and 74 | 2 |
| 173 and 59 | 1 |