Factor pairs of 143 are any two numbers that, when multiplied together, equal 143. The question to ask is “what two numbers multiplied together equal 143?” Every factor can be paired with another factor, and multiplying the two will result in 143.
To find the factor pairs of 143, follow these steps:
Step 1:
Find the smallest prime number that is larger than 1, and is a factor of 143. 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 11.
Step 2:
Divide 143 by the smallest prime factor, in this case, 11:
143 ÷ 11 = 13
11 and 13 will make a new factor pair.
Step 3:
Repeat Steps 1 and 2, using 13 as the new focus. Find the smallest prime factor that isn’t 1, and divide 13 by that number. In this case, 13 is the new smallest prime factor:
13 ÷ 13 = 1
Remember that this new factor pair is only for the factors of 13, not 143. So, to finish the factor pair for 143, you’d multiply 11 and 13 before pairing with 1:
11 x 13 = 143
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 143:
(1, 143), (11, 13)
So, to list all the factors of 143: 1, 11, 13, 143
The negative factors of 143 would be: -1, -11, -13, -143