Here we will show you step-by-step how to simplify 72/18 to the simplest form.
The key to solving this problem is to find the greatest common divisor of 72 and 18.
To find the greatest common divisor of 72 and 18, we list all of the factors of both numbers so we can compare the lists.
When we compared the factors of 72 (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 72) and 18 (1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 18) we found that 18 is the largest factor that they have in common.
Since 18 is the largest common factor of 72 and 18, 18 is also the greatest common divisor of 72 and 18.
Now, we divide both the numerator and denominator in 72/18 by the greatest common divisor as follows:
Numerator: 72/18 = 4
Denominator: 18/18 = 1
Then, we put the numerator and denominator that we are left with back together to get 4/1.
4/1 is an improper fraction, which means we have to simplify further.
4 divided by 1 is 4, so the answer is:
4
The answer here happened to be a whole number, so you also could have simply divided 72 by 18 to get the same answer.
Simplify 72/19 to the Simplest Form
Go here for the next fraction we simplified to the simplest form.
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