The HCF of 2 and 4 is 2. The greatest possible number that divides 2 and 4 perfectly without any remainder is the HCF of 2 and 4. The factors of 2 and 4 are 1, 2 and 1, 2, 4, respectively. In this article you can see how to find HCF of 2 and 4 by listing common factors, long division, and prime factorisation methods.
Also read: Highest common factor
What is the HCF of 2 and 4?
The answer to this question is 2. This article shows the HCF of 2 and 4 using various methods for your reference. The greatest of all their common factors is the Highest Common Factor (HCF) of two or more numbers.
How to Find HCF of 2 and 4?
There are three methods to find the HCF of 2 and 4:
- Prime Factorisation
- Long Division method
- Listing common factors
HCF of 2 and 4 by Prime Factorisation Method
The prime factorisation of 2 and 4 is given by:
Prime factorisation of 2 = 2
Prime factorisation of 4 = (2 × 2)
Hence, the HCF of 2 and 4 is 2.
HCF (2, 4) = 2
HCF of 2 and 4 by Long Division Method
The divisor that we receive when the remainder becomes 0 after executing long division repeatedly is HCF of 2 and 4.
No further division can be done.
Hence, HCF (2, 4) = 2
HCF of 2 and 4 by Listing the Factors
To calculate the HCF of 2 and 4 by listing out the common factors, list the factors as shown below:
Factors of 2: 1, 2
Factors of 4: 1, 2, 4
There are 2 common factors of 2 and 4, and they are 1 and 2. Therefore, the highest common factor of 2 and 4 is 2.
Related Articles
Video Lesson on Properties of HCF and LCM
HCF of 2 and 4 Solved Example
Question: The product of two numbers is 8. If their HCF is 2, what is their LCM?
Solution:
Given: HCF = 2 and product of numbers = 8
LCM × HCF = product of numbers
⇒ LCM = Product/HCF = 8/2
Therefore, the LCM is 4.
Frequently Asked Questions on HCF of 2 and 4
Q1
What is the HCF of 2 and 4?
The HCF of 2 and 4 is 2. To calculate the HCF (Highest Common Factor) of 2 and 4, we need to factor each number (factors of 2 = 1, 2; factors of 4 = 1, 2, 4) and choose the highest factor that exactly divides both 2 and 4, i.e. 2.
Q2
How to find the HCF of 2 and 4 by prime factorisation?
To find the HCF of 2 and 4, we will find the prime factorisation of the given numbers, i.e. 2 = 2; 4 = 2 × 2.
⇒ Since 2 is the only common prime factor of 2 and 4, HCF (2, 4) = 2.
Q3
What are the methods to find HCF of 2 and 4?
There are three commonly used methods to find the HCF of 2 and 4.
By Long Division
By Listing Common Factors
By Prime Factorisation
