As your math tutor, I’m here to help you break down factor pairs of 428 step by step!
Factor pairs of 428 are any two numbers that, when multiplied together, equal 428. The question to ask is “what two numbers multiplied together equal 428?” Every factor can be paired with another factor, and multiplying the two will result in 428.
To find the factor pairs of 428, follow these steps:
Step 1:
Find the smallest prime number that is larger than 1, and is a factor of 428. 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 428 by the smallest prime factor, in this case, 2:
428 ÷ 2 = 214
2 and 214 will make a new factor pair.
Step 3:
Repeat Steps 1 and 2, using 214 as the new focus. Find the smallest prime factor that isn’t 1, and divide 214 by that number. In this case, 2 is the new smallest prime factor:
214 ÷ 2 = 107
Remember that this new factor pair is only for the factors of 214, not 428. So, to finish the factor pair for 428, you’d multiply 2 and 2 before pairing with 107:
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 428:
(1, 428), (2, 214), (4, 107)
So, to list all the factors of 428: 1, 2, 4, 107, 214, 428
The negative factors of 428 would be: -1, -2, -4, -107, -214, -428
Now you’ve got it! A math tutor would always encourage you to practice with different numbers to reinforce your understanding of factor pairs. Try another one!