As your math tutor, I’m here to help you break down factor pairs of 2438 step by step!
Factor pairs of 2438 are any two numbers that, when multiplied together, equal 2438. The question to ask is “what two numbers multiplied together equal 2438?” Every factor can be paired with another factor, and multiplying the two will result in 2438.
To find the factor pairs of 2438, follow these steps:
Step 1:
Find the smallest prime number that is larger than 1, and is a factor of 2438. 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 2438 by the smallest prime factor, in this case, 2:
2438 ÷ 2 = 1219
2 and 1219 will make a new factor pair.
Step 3:
Repeat Steps 1 and 2, using 1219 as the new focus. Find the smallest prime factor that isn’t 1, and divide 1219 by that number. In this case, 23 is the new smallest prime factor:
1219 ÷ 23 = 53
Remember that this new factor pair is only for the factors of 1219, not 2438. So, to finish the factor pair for 2438, you’d multiply 2 and 23 before pairing with 53:
2 x 23 = 46
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 2438:
(1, 2438), (2, 1219), (23, 106), (46, 53)
So, to list all the factors of 2438: 1, 2, 23, 46, 53, 106, 1219, 2438
The negative factors of 2438 would be: -1, -2, -23, -46, -53, -106, -1219, -2438
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!