Factor pairs of 236 are any two numbers that, when multiplied together, equal 236. The question to ask is “what two numbers multiplied together equal 236?” Every factor can be paired with another factor, and multiplying the two will result in 236.
To find the factor pairs of 236, follow these steps:
Step 1:
Find the smallest prime number that is larger than 1, and is a factor of 236. 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 236 by the smallest prime factor, in this case, 2:
236 ÷ 2 = 118
2 and 118 will make a new factor pair.
Step 3:
Repeat Steps 1 and 2, using 118 as the new focus. Find the smallest prime factor that isn’t 1, and divide 118 by that number. In this case, 2 is the new smallest prime factor:
118 ÷ 2 = 59
Remember that this new factor pair is only for the factors of 118, not 236. So, to finish the factor pair for 236, you’d multiply 2 and 2 before pairing with 59:
2 x 2 = 4
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 236:
(1, 236), (2, 118), (4, 59)
So, to list all the factors of 236: 1, 2, 4, 59, 118, 236
The negative factors of 236 would be: -1, -2, -4, -59, -118, -236