Question: what is the greatest common factor of the numbers 12 and 15?
Answer: The factors of 12 are : 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12. The factors of 15 are : 1, 3, 5, 15. 1 and 3 are the only common factors (numbers which are factors of both 12 and 15). Therefore, the highest common factor of 12 and 15 is 3.