Factor pairs of 123 are any two numbers that, when multiplied together, equal 123. The question to ask is “what two numbers multiplied together equal 123?” Every factor can be paired with another factor, and multiplying the two will result in 123.
To find the factor pairs of 123, follow these steps:
Step 1:
Find the smallest prime number that is larger than 1, and is a factor of 123. For reference, the first prime numbers to check are 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, and 13. In this case, the smallest factor that’s a prime number larger than 1 is 3.
Step 2:
Divide 123 by the smallest prime factor, in this case, 3:
123 ÷ 3 = 41
3 and 41 will make a new factor pair.
Step 3:
Repeat Steps 1 and 2, using 41 as the new focus. Find the smallest prime factor that isn’t 1, and divide 41 by that number. In this case, 41 is the new smallest prime factor:
41 ÷ 41 = 1
Remember that this new factor pair is only for the factors of 41, not 123. So, to finish the factor pair for 123, you’d multiply 3 and 41 before pairing with 1:
3 x 41 = 123
Step 4:
Repeat this process until there are no longer any prime factors larger than one to divide by. At the end, you should have the full list of factor pairs.
Here are all the factor pairs for 123:
(1, 123), (3, 41)
So, to list all the factors of 123: 1, 3, 41, 123
The negative factors of 123 would be: -1, -3, -41, -123