GCF and LCM of 20 and 48

The GCF of 20 and 48 is 4. The LCM of 20 and 48 is 240.

Method 1: list the factors (GCF)

Factors of 20: 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 20.
Factors of 48: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24, 48.
Common factors: 1, 2 and 4. The greatest of these is 4.

Method 2: prime factorization

20 = 2 × 2 × 5
48 = 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 3

GCF: multiply the prime factors both numbers share: 2 × 2 = 4.

LCM: multiply every prime the maximum number of times it appears in either number: 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 3 × 5 = 240.

Method 3: Euclidean algorithm (GCF)

Divide the larger number by the smaller and repeat with the remainder until it is 0. The last non-zero remainder is the GCF.

  1. 48 = 2 × 20 + 8
  2. 20 = 2 × 8 + 4
  3. 8 = 2 × 4 + 0

The last non-zero remainder is 4, so GCF(20, 48) = 4.

LCM by listing multiples

Multiples of 20: 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 140, 160, 180, ...
Multiples of 48: 48, 96, 144, 192, 240, 288, ...
The first number in both lists is 240.

Check: GCF × LCM = product

4 × 240 = 960 = 20 × 48. This always holds for two numbers, so you can find the LCM as (20 × 48) ÷ 4 = 240.

Simplifying the fraction 20/48

Divide the top and bottom by the GCF 4: 20/48 = 5/12.

GCF and LCM of similar pairs

NumbersGCFLCM
2 and 20220
3 and 20160
4 and 20420
5 and 20520
6 and 20260
7 and 201140
2 and 48248
3 and 48348
4 and 48448
5 and 481240
6 and 48648
7 and 481336

See also: factors of 20 · factors of 48.

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