Factor pairs of 145 are any two numbers that, when multiplied together, equal 145. The question to ask is “what two numbers multiplied together equal 145?” Every factor can be paired with another factor, and multiplying the two will result in 145.
To find the factor pairs of 145, follow these steps:
Step 1:
Find the smallest prime number that is larger than 1, and is a factor of 145. 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 5.
Step 2:
Divide 145 by the smallest prime factor, in this case, 5:
145 ÷ 5 = 29
5 and 29 will make a new factor pair.
Step 3:
Repeat Steps 1 and 2, using 29 as the new focus. Find the smallest prime factor that isn’t 1, and divide 29 by that number. In this case, 29 is the new smallest prime factor:
29 ÷ 29 = 1
Remember that this new factor pair is only for the factors of 29, not 145. So, to finish the factor pair for 145, you’d multiply 5 and 29 before pairing with 1:
5 x 29 = 145
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 145:
(1, 145), (5, 29)
So, to list all the factors of 145: 1, 5, 29, 145
The negative factors of 145 would be: -1, -5, -29, -145