Factor pairs of 189 are any two numbers that, when multiplied together, equal 189. The question to ask is “what two numbers multiplied together equal 189?” Every factor can be paired with another factor, and multiplying the two will result in 189.
To find the factor pairs of 189, follow these steps:
Step 1:
Find the smallest prime number that is larger than 1, and is a factor of 189. 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 3.
Step 2:
Divide 189 by the smallest prime factor, in this case, 3:
189 ÷ 3 = 63
3 and 63 will make a new factor pair.
Step 3:
Repeat Steps 1 and 2, using 63 as the new focus. Find the smallest prime factor that isn’t 1, and divide 63 by that number. In this case, 3 is the new smallest prime factor:
63 ÷ 3 = 21
Remember that this new factor pair is only for the factors of 63, not 189. So, to finish the factor pair for 189, you’d multiply 3 and 3 before pairing with 21:
3 x 3 = 9
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 189:
(1, 189), (3, 63), (7, 27), (9, 21)
So, to list all the factors of 189: 1, 3, 7, 9, 21, 27, 63, 189
The negative factors of 189 would be: -1, -3, -7, -9, -21, -27, -63, -189