As your math tutor, I’m here to help you break down factor pairs of 589 step by step!
Factor pairs of 589 are any two numbers that, when multiplied together, equal 589. The question to ask is “what two numbers multiplied together equal 589?” Every factor can be paired with another factor, and multiplying the two will result in 589.
To find the factor pairs of 589, follow these steps:
Step 1:
Find the smallest prime number that is larger than 1, and is a factor of 589. 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 19.
Step 2:
Divide 589 by the smallest prime factor, in this case, 19:
589 ÷ 19 = 31
19 and 31 will make a new factor pair.
Step 3:
Repeat Steps 1 and 2, using 31 as the new focus. Find the smallest prime factor that isn’t 1, and divide 31 by that number. In this case, 31 is the new smallest prime factor:
31 ÷ 31 = 1
Remember that this new factor pair is only for the factors of 31, not 589. So, to finish the factor pair for 589, you’d multiply 19 and 31 before pairing with 1:
19 x 31 = 589
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 589:
(1, 589), (19, 31)
So, to list all the factors of 589: 1, 19, 31, 589
The negative factors of 589 would be: -1, -19, -31, -589
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!