As your math tutor, I’m here to help you break down factor pairs of 685 step by step!
Factor pairs of 685 are any two numbers that, when multiplied together, equal 685. The question to ask is “what two numbers multiplied together equal 685?” Every factor can be paired with another factor, and multiplying the two will result in 685.
To find the factor pairs of 685, follow these steps:
Step 1:
Find the smallest prime number that is larger than 1, and is a factor of 685. 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 5.
Step 2:
Divide 685 by the smallest prime factor, in this case, 5:
685 ÷ 5 = 137
5 and 137 will make a new factor pair.
Step 3:
Repeat Steps 1 and 2, using 137 as the new focus. Find the smallest prime factor that isn’t 1, and divide 137 by that number. In this case, 137 is the new smallest prime factor:
137 ÷ 137 = 1
Remember that this new factor pair is only for the factors of 137, not 685. So, to finish the factor pair for 685, you’d multiply 5 and 137 before pairing with 1:
5 x 137 = 685
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 685:
(1, 685), (5, 137)
So, to list all the factors of 685: 1, 5, 137, 685
The negative factors of 685 would be: -1, -5, -137, -685
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!