As your math tutor, I’m here to help you break down factor pairs of 169 step by step!
Factor pairs of 169 are any two numbers that, when multiplied together, equal 169. The question to ask is “what two numbers multiplied together equal 169?” Every factor can be paired with another factor, and multiplying the two will result in 169.
To find the factor pairs of 169, follow these steps:
Step 1:
Find the smallest prime number that is larger than 1, and is a factor of 169. 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 13.
Step 2:
Divide 169 by the smallest prime factor, in this case, 13:
169 ÷ 13 = 13
13 and 13 will make a new factor pair.
Step 3:
Repeat Steps 1 and 2, using 13 as the new focus. Find the smallest prime factor that isn’t 1, and divide 13 by that number. In this case, 13 is the new smallest prime factor:
13 ÷ 13 = 1
Remember that this new factor pair is only for the factors of 13, not 169. So, to finish the factor pair for 169, you’d multiply 13 and 13 before pairing with 1:
13 x 13 = 169
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 169:
(1, 169), (13, 13)
So, to list all the factors of 169: 1, 13, 169
The negative factors of 169 would be: -1, -13, -169
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!