As your math tutor, I’m here to help you break down factor pairs of 511 step by step!
Factor pairs of 511 are any two numbers that, when multiplied together, equal 511. The question to ask is “what two numbers multiplied together equal 511?” Every factor can be paired with another factor, and multiplying the two will result in 511.
To find the factor pairs of 511, follow these steps:
Step 1:
Find the smallest prime number that is larger than 1, and is a factor of 511. 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 7.
Step 2:
Divide 511 by the smallest prime factor, in this case, 7:
511 ÷ 7 = 73
7 and 73 will make a new factor pair.
Step 3:
Repeat Steps 1 and 2, using 73 as the new focus. Find the smallest prime factor that isn’t 1, and divide 73 by that number. In this case, 73 is the new smallest prime factor:
73 ÷ 73 = 1
Remember that this new factor pair is only for the factors of 73, not 511. So, to finish the factor pair for 511, you’d multiply 7 and 73 before pairing with 1:
7 x 73 = 511
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 511:
(1, 511), (7, 73)
So, to list all the factors of 511: 1, 7, 73, 511
The negative factors of 511 would be: -1, -7, -73, -511
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!