What are the Factors of 81?

Factors of 81 are any integer that can be multiplied by another integer to make exactly 81. In other words, finding the factors of 81 is like breaking down the number 81 into all the smaller pieces that can be used in a multiplication problem to equal 81.

Factors of 81

Methods

What are the Factors of 81?

The following are the different types of factors of 81:

• Factors of 81: 1, 3, 9, 27, 81

• Sum of Factors of 81: 121

• Negative Factors of 81: -1, -3, -9, -27, -81

• Prime Factors of 81: 3

• Prime Factorization of 81: 3^4

There are two ways to find the factors of 81: using factor pairs, and using prime factorization.

The Factor Pairs of 81

Factor pairs of 81 are any two numbers that, when multiplied together, equal 81. The question to ask is “what two numbers multiplied together equal 81?” Every factor can be paired with another factor, and multiplying the two will result in 81.

To find the factor pairs of 81, follow these steps:

Step 1:

Find the smallest prime number that is larger than 1, and is a factor of 81. 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 81 by the smallest prime factor, in this case, 3:

81 ÷ 3 = 27

3 and 27 will make a new factor pair.

Step 3:

Repeat Steps 1 and 2, using 27 as the new focus. Find the smallest prime factor that isn’t 1, and divide 27 by that number. In this case, 3 is the new smallest prime factor:

27 ÷ 3 = 9

Remember that this new factor pair is only for the factors of 27, not 81. So, to finish the factor pair for 81, you’d multiply 3 and 3 before pairing with 9:

3 x 3 = 9

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 81:

(1, 81), (3, 27), (9, 9)

So, to list all the factors of 81: 1, 3, 9, 27, 81

The negative factors of 81 would be: -1, -3, -9, -27, -81

Prime Factorization of 81

To find the Prime factorization of 81, we break down all the factors of 81 until we are left with only prime factors. We then express n as a product of multiplying the prime factors together.

The process of finding the prime factorization of 81 only has a few differences from the above method of finding the factors of 81. Instead of ensuring we find the right factor pairs, we continue to factor each step until we are left with only the list of smallest prime factors greater than 1.

Here are the steps for finding the prime factorization of 81:

Step 1:

Find the smallest prime number that is larger than 1, and is a factor of 81. 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 81 by the smallest prime factor, in this case, 3

81 ÷ 3 = 27

3 becomes the first number in our prime factorization.

Step 3:

Repeat Steps 1 and 2, using 27 as the new focus. Find the smallest prime factor that isn’t 1, and divide 27 by that number. The smallest prime factor you pick for 27 will then be the next prime factor. If you keep repeating this process, there will be a point where there will be no more prime factors left, which leaves you with the prime factors for prime factorization.

So, the unique prime factors of 81 are: 3

Find the Factors of Other Numbers

Practice your factoring skills by exploring how to factor other numbers, like the ones below:

Factors of 150 - The factors of 150 are 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 15, 25, 30, 50, 75, 150

Factors of 145 - The factors of 145 are 1, 5, 29, 145

Factors of 142 - The factors of 142 are 1, 2, 71, 142

Factors of 134 - The factors of 134 are 1, 2, 67, 134

Download FREE Math Resources

Take advantage of our free downloadable resources and study materials for at-home learning.

8 Math Hacks and Tricks to Turn Your ‘Okay’ Math Student Into a Math Champion!

One thing we teach our students at Thinkster is that there are multiple ways to solve a math problem. This helps our students learn to think flexibly and non-linearly.

Get PDF

How to Make Sure Your Child is Highly Successful and Becomes a Millionaire

As a parent, you hope your child is extremely successful and likely become the next Gates, Zuckerberg, or Meg Whitman. To set your child on the right path, there are many skills and traits that you can start building and nurturing now. Doing so plants the seeds for future success.

Get PDF

Your Child Can Improve Their Math Scores By 90% Within 3 months!

Our elite math tutors are ready to help make your child a math champion! Sign up for our zero $ free trial to get started today.

Try for Free