As your math tutor, I’m here to help you break down factor pairs of 851 step by step!
Factor pairs of 851 are any two numbers that, when multiplied together, equal 851. The question to ask is “what two numbers multiplied together equal 851?” Every factor can be paired with another factor, and multiplying the two will result in 851.
To find the factor pairs of 851, follow these steps:
Step 1:
Find the smallest prime number that is larger than 1, and is a factor of 851. 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 23.
Step 2:
Divide 851 by the smallest prime factor, in this case, 23:
851 ÷ 23 = 37
23 and 37 will make a new factor pair.
Step 3:
Repeat Steps 1 and 2, using 37 as the new focus. Find the smallest prime factor that isn’t 1, and divide 37 by that number. In this case, 37 is the new smallest prime factor:
37 ÷ 37 = 1
Remember that this new factor pair is only for the factors of 37, not 851. So, to finish the factor pair for 851, you’d multiply 23 and 37 before pairing with 1:
23 x 37 = 851
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 851:
(1, 851), (23, 37)
So, to list all the factors of 851: 1, 23, 37, 851
The negative factors of 851 would be: -1, -23, -37, -851
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!