Factor pairs of 280 are any two numbers that, when multiplied together, equal 280. The question to ask is “what two numbers multiplied together equal 280?” Every factor can be paired with another factor, and multiplying the two will result in 280.
To find the factor pairs of 280, follow these steps:
Step 1:
Find the smallest prime number that is larger than 1, and is a factor of 280. 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 280 by the smallest prime factor, in this case, 2:
280 ÷ 2 = 140
2 and 140 will make a new factor pair.
Step 3:
Repeat Steps 1 and 2, using 140 as the new focus. Find the smallest prime factor that isn’t 1, and divide 140 by that number. In this case, 2 is the new smallest prime factor:
140 ÷ 2 = 70
Remember that this new factor pair is only for the factors of 140, not 280. So, to finish the factor pair for 280, you’d multiply 2 and 2 before pairing with 70:
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 280:
(1, 280), (2, 140), (4, 70), (5, 56), (7, 40), (8, 35), (10, 28), (14, 20)
So, to list all the factors of 280: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 14, 20, 28, 35, 40, 56, 70, 140, 280
The negative factors of 280 would be: -1, -2, -4, -5, -7, -8, -10, -14, -20, -28, -35, -40, -56, -70, -140, -280