Factorization
What is the factor of a number?
What is meant by a factor of a number is a number that can divide into whole numbers without remainder. For example, one of the factors of the number 12 is 6 because 6 can divide 12 without a remainder.
How to Find the Factors of a Number
An easy way to factor in a number is to check any multiplication that results in the number you are factoring for. For example, to find the factor of the number 6, we can find any multiplication that gives 6.
- 1 x 6 = 6
- 2 x 3 = 6
Now that we know what multiplications are 6, we can see that the factors of 6 are 1, 2, 3, and 6.
What are Factor Pairs?
Factor pairs are pairs of numbers that, when multiplied, return the number of those factors. For example, the factor pairs of 6 are (1, 6) and (2, 3) because these pairs are multiplied by 6.
What is Prime Factor?
Prime factor is a factor of a number which is a prime number. Prime numbers are numbers that are only divisible by 1 and the numbers themselves are like 2, 3, 5, and so on. For example, the prime factors of the number 12 are 2 x 2 x 3.
How to Find the Prime Factor of a Number
Prime factorization is a way to find the prime factors of a number. The way to do prime factorization is to divide the number you are looking for by prime numbers in a row until the quotient is 1n or prime numbers like 2 and 3.For example, to find the prime factor of 12 is:
- 12 Divided by 2, the result is 6.
- 6 diveded by 2, the result is 3.
- 3 diveded by 3, the result is 1.
An example of a prime factorization tree of 12 is:
12 | |
| | \ |
6 | 2 |
| | \ |
3 | 2 |
| | \ |
1 | 3 |
Therefore, the prime factor of 12 is 2 x 2 x 3.