Factor pairs of 124 are any two numbers that, when multiplied together, equal 124. The question to ask is “what two numbers multiplied together equal 124?” Every factor can be paired with another factor, and multiplying the two will result in 124.
To find the factor pairs of 124, follow these steps:
Step 1:
Find the smallest prime number that is larger than 1, and is a factor of 124. 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 2.
Step 2:
Divide 124 by the smallest prime factor, in this case, 2:
124 ÷ 2 = 62
2 and 62 will make a new factor pair.
Step 3:
Repeat Steps 1 and 2, using 62 as the new focus. Find the smallest prime factor that isn’t 1, and divide 62 by that number. In this case, 2 is the new smallest prime factor:
62 ÷ 2 = 31
Remember that this new factor pair is only for the factors of 62, not 124. So, to finish the factor pair for 124, you’d multiply 2 and 2 before pairing with 31:
2 x 2 = 4
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 124:
(1, 124), (2, 62), (4, 31)
So, to list all the factors of 124: 1, 2, 4, 31, 62, 124
The negative factors of 124 would be: -1, -2, -4, -31, -62, -124