As your math tutor, I’m here to help you break down factor pairs of 272 step by step!
Factor pairs of 272 are any two numbers that, when multiplied together, equal 272. The question to ask is “what two numbers multiplied together equal 272?” Every factor can be paired with another factor, and multiplying the two will result in 272.
To find the factor pairs of 272, follow these steps:
Step 1:
Find the smallest prime number that is larger than 1, and is a factor of 272. 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 272 by the smallest prime factor, in this case, 2:
272 ÷ 2 = 136
2 and 136 will make a new factor pair.
Step 3:
Repeat Steps 1 and 2, using 136 as the new focus. Find the smallest prime factor that isn’t 1, and divide 136 by that number. In this case, 2 is the new smallest prime factor:
136 ÷ 2 = 68
Remember that this new factor pair is only for the factors of 136, not 272. So, to finish the factor pair for 272, you’d multiply 2 and 2 before pairing with 68:
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 272:
(1, 272), (2, 136), (4, 68), (8, 34), (16, 17)
So, to list all the factors of 272: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 17, 34, 68, 136, 272
The negative factors of 272 would be: -1, -2, -4, -8, -16, -17, -34, -68, -136, -272
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!