Factor pairs of 142 are any two numbers that, when multiplied together, equal 142. The question to ask is “what two numbers multiplied together equal 142?” Every factor can be paired with another factor, and multiplying the two will result in 142.
To find the factor pairs of 142, follow these steps:
Step 1:
Find the smallest prime number that is larger than 1, and is a factor of 142. 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 142 by the smallest prime factor, in this case, 2:
142 ÷ 2 = 71
2 and 71 will make a new factor pair.
Step 3:
Repeat Steps 1 and 2, using 71 as the new focus. Find the smallest prime factor that isn’t 1, and divide 71 by that number. In this case, 71 is the new smallest prime factor:
71 ÷ 71 = 1
Remember that this new factor pair is only for the factors of 71, not 142. So, to finish the factor pair for 142, you’d multiply 2 and 71 before pairing with 1:
2 x 71 = 142
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 142:
(1, 142), (2, 71)
So, to list all the factors of 142: 1, 2, 71, 142
The negative factors of 142 would be: -1, -2, -71, -142