As your math tutor, I’m here to help you break down factor pairs of 168 step by step!
Factor pairs of 168 are any two numbers that, when multiplied together, equal 168. The question to ask is “what two numbers multiplied together equal 168?” Every factor can be paired with another factor, and multiplying the two will result in 168.
To find the factor pairs of 168, follow these steps:
Step 1:
Find the smallest prime number that is larger than 1, and is a factor of 168. 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 168 by the smallest prime factor, in this case, 2:
168 ÷ 2 = 84
2 and 84 will make a new factor pair.
Step 3:
Repeat Steps 1 and 2, using 84 as the new focus. Find the smallest prime factor that isn’t 1, and divide 84 by that number. In this case, 2 is the new smallest prime factor:
84 ÷ 2 = 42
Remember that this new factor pair is only for the factors of 84, not 168. So, to finish the factor pair for 168, you’d multiply 2 and 2 before pairing with 42:
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 168:
(1, 168), (2, 84), (3, 56), (4, 42), (6, 28), (7, 24), (8, 21), (12, 14)
So, to list all the factors of 168: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 12, 14, 21, 24, 28, 42, 56, 84, 168
The negative factors of 168 would be: -1, -2, -3, -4, -6, -7, -8, -12, -14, -21, -24, -28, -42, -56, -84, -168
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!