Factor pairs of 162 are any two numbers that, when multiplied together, equal 162. The question to ask is “what two numbers multiplied together equal 162?” Every factor can be paired with another factor, and multiplying the two will result in 162.
To find the factor pairs of 162, follow these steps:
Step 1:
Find the smallest prime number that is larger than 1, and is a factor of 162. 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 162 by the smallest prime factor, in this case, 2:
162 ÷ 2 = 81
2 and 81 will make a new factor pair.
Step 3:
Repeat Steps 1 and 2, using 81 as the new focus. Find the smallest prime factor that isn’t 1, and divide 81 by that number. In this case, 3 is the new smallest prime factor:
81 ÷ 3 = 27
Remember that this new factor pair is only for the factors of 81, not 162. So, to finish the factor pair for 162, you’d multiply 2 and 3 before pairing with 27:
2 x 3 = 6
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 162:
(1, 162), (2, 81), (3, 54), (6, 27), (9, 18)
So, to list all the factors of 162: 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 18, 27, 54, 81, 162
The negative factors of 162 would be: -1, -2, -3, -6, -9, -18, -27, -54, -81, -162