Factor pairs of 266 are any two numbers that, when multiplied together, equal 266. The question to ask is “what two numbers multiplied together equal 266?” Every factor can be paired with another factor, and multiplying the two will result in 266.
To find the factor pairs of 266, follow these steps:
Step 1:
Find the smallest prime number that is larger than 1, and is a factor of 266. 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 266 by the smallest prime factor, in this case, 2:
266 ÷ 2 = 133
2 and 133 will make a new factor pair.
Step 3:
Repeat Steps 1 and 2, using 133 as the new focus. Find the smallest prime factor that isn’t 1, and divide 133 by that number. In this case, 7 is the new smallest prime factor:
133 ÷ 7 = 19
Remember that this new factor pair is only for the factors of 133, not 266. So, to finish the factor pair for 266, you’d multiply 2 and 7 before pairing with 19:
2 x 7 = 14
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 266:
(1, 266), (2, 133), (7, 38), (14, 19)
So, to list all the factors of 266: 1, 2, 7, 14, 19, 38, 133, 266
The negative factors of 266 would be: -1, -2, -7, -14, -19, -38, -133, -266