As your math tutor, I’m here to help you break down factor pairs of 165 step by step!
Factor pairs of 165 are any two numbers that, when multiplied together, equal 165. The question to ask is “what two numbers multiplied together equal 165?” Every factor can be paired with another factor, and multiplying the two will result in 165.
To find the factor pairs of 165, follow these steps:
Step 1:
Find the smallest prime number that is larger than 1, and is a factor of 165. 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 165 by the smallest prime factor, in this case, 3:
165 ÷ 3 = 55
3 and 55 will make a new factor pair.
Step 3:
Repeat Steps 1 and 2, using 55 as the new focus. Find the smallest prime factor that isn’t 1, and divide 55 by that number. In this case, 5 is the new smallest prime factor:
55 ÷ 5 = 11
Remember that this new factor pair is only for the factors of 55, not 165. So, to finish the factor pair for 165, you’d multiply 3 and 5 before pairing with 11:
3 x 5 = 15
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 165:
(1, 165), (3, 55), (5, 33), (11, 15)
So, to list all the factors of 165: 1, 3, 5, 11, 15, 33, 55, 165
The negative factors of 165 would be: -1, -3, -5, -11, -15, -33, -55, -165
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!