Factor pairs of 51 are any two numbers that, when multiplied together, equal 51. The question to ask is “what two numbers multiplied together equal 51?” Every factor can be paired with another factor, and multiplying the two will result in 51.
To find the factor pairs of 51, follow these steps:
Step 1:
Find the smallest prime number that is larger than 1, and is a factor of 51. 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 51 by the smallest prime factor, in this case, 3:
51 ÷ 3 = 17
3 and 17 will make a new factor pair.
Step 3:
Repeat Steps 1 and 2, using 17 as the new focus. Find the smallest prime factor that isn’t 1, and divide 17 by that number. In this case, 17 is the new smallest prime factor:
17 ÷ 17 = 1
Remember that this new factor pair is only for the factors of 17, not 51. So, to finish the factor pair for 51, you’d multiply 3 and 17 before pairing with 1:
3 x 17 = 51
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 51:
(1, 51), (3, 17)
So, to list all the factors of 51: 1, 3, 17, 51
The negative factors of 51 would be: -1, -3, -17, -51