Greatest Common Divisor (GCD) of 60 and 171
The greatest common divisor (GCD) of 60 and 171 is 3.
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 60 and 171?
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 | 60 ÷ 171 = 0 remainder 60 |
| 2 | 171 ÷ 60 = 2 remainder 51 |
| 3 | 60 ÷ 51 = 1 remainder 9 |
| 4 | 51 ÷ 9 = 5 remainder 6 |
| 5 | 9 ÷ 6 = 1 remainder 3 |
| 6 | 6 ÷ 3 = 2 remainder 0 |
Examples of GCD Calculations
| Numbers | GCD |
|---|---|
| 50 and 78 | 2 |
| 148 and 44 | 4 |
| 30 and 154 | 2 |
| 186 and 189 | 3 |
| 141 and 75 | 3 |