Last updated on July 28th, 2025
The GCF is the largest number that can divide two or more numbers without leaving any remainder. GCF is used to share items equally, to group or arrange items, and schedule events. In this topic, we will learn about the GCF of 16 and 48.
The greatest common factor of 16 and 48 is 16. The largest divisor of two or more numbers is called the GCF of the number. If two numbers are co-prime, they have no common factors other than 1, so their GCF is 1. The GCF of two numbers cannot be negative because divisors are always positive.
To find the GCF of 16 and 48, a few methods are described below:
Steps to find the GCF of 16 and 48 using the listing of factors
Step 1: Firstly, list the factors of each number
Factors of 16 = 1, 2, 4, 8, 16.
Factors of 48 = 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24, 48.
Step 2: Now, identify the common factors of them Common factors of 16 and 48: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16.
Step 3: Choose the largest factor The largest factor that both numbers have is 16. The GCF of 16 and 48 is 16.
To find the GCF of 16 and 48 using the Prime Factorization Method, follow these steps:
Step 1: Find the prime factors of each number:
Prime Factors of 16: 16 = 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 = 24
Prime Factors of 48: 48 = 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 3 = 24 × 3
Step 2: Now, identify the common prime factors The common prime factors are: 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 = 24
Step 3: Multiply the common prime factors 24 = 16. The Greatest Common Factor of 16 and 48 is 16.
Find the GCF of 16 and 48 using the division method or Euclidean Algorithm Method. Follow these steps:
Step 1: First, divide the larger number by the smaller number Here, divide 48 by 16 48 ÷ 16 = 3 (quotient).
The remainder is calculated as 48 − (16×3) = 0.
The remainder is zero, so the divisor will become the GCF.
The GCF of 16 and 48 is 16.
Finding GCF of 16 and 48 looks simple, but students often make mistakes while calculating the GCF. Here are some common mistakes to be avoided by the students.
A chef has 16 apples and 48 oranges. He wants to arrange them into equal baskets, with the largest number of fruits in each basket. How many fruits will be in each basket?
We should find the GCF of 16 and 48
GCF of 16 and 48 24 = 16.
There are 16 equal baskets 16 ÷ 16 = 1 48 ÷ 16 = 3
There will be 16 baskets, and each basket gets 1 apple and 3 oranges.
As the GCF of 16 and 48 is 16, the chef can make 16 baskets.
Now divide 16 and 48 by 16.
Each basket gets 1 apple and 3 oranges.
A florist has 16 roses and 48 lilies. She wants to arrange them in bouquets with the same number of flowers in each bouquet, using the largest possible number of flowers per bouquet. How many flowers will be in each bouquet?
GCF of 16 and 48 24 = 16.
So each bouquet will have 16 flowers.
There are 16 roses and 48 lilies.
To find the total number of flowers in each bouquet, we should find the GCF of 16 and 48.
There will be 16 flowers in each bouquet.
A farmer has 16 meters of red fencing and 48 meters of green fencing. He wants to cut both fences into pieces of equal length, using the longest possible length. What should be the length of each piece?
For calculating the longest equal length, we have to calculate the GCF of 16 and 48 The GCF of 16 and 48 24 = 16.
The fence is 16 meters long.
For calculating the longest length of the fence, first, we need to calculate the GCF of 16 and 48, which is 16. The length of each piece of the fence will be 16 meters.
A carpenter has two wooden planks, one 16 cm long and the other 48 cm long. He wants to cut them into the longest possible equal pieces, without any wood left over. What should be the length of each piece?
The carpenter needs the longest piece of wood GCF of 16 and 48 24 = 16. The longest length of each piece is 16 cm.
To find the longest length of each piece of the two wooden planks, 16 cm and 48 cm, respectively. We have to find the GCF of 16 and 48, which is 16 cm. The longest length of each piece is 16 cm.
If the GCF of 16 and ‘a’ is 16, and the LCM is 48. Find ‘a’.
The value of ‘a’ is 48.
GCF × LCM = product of the numbers
16 × 48 = 16 × a
768 = 16a
a = 768 ÷ 16 = 48
Hiralee Lalitkumar Makwana has almost two years of teaching experience. She is a number ninja as she loves numbers. Her interest in numbers can be seen in the way she cracks math puzzles and hidden patterns.
: She loves to read number jokes and games.