As your math tutor, I’m here to help you break down factor pairs of 980 step by step!
Factor pairs of 980 are any two numbers that, when multiplied together, equal 980. The question to ask is “what two numbers multiplied together equal 980?” Every factor can be paired with another factor, and multiplying the two will result in 980.
To find the factor pairs of 980, follow these steps:
Step 1:
Find the smallest prime number that is larger than 1, and is a factor of 980. 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 980 by the smallest prime factor, in this case, 2:
980 ÷ 2 = 490
2 and 490 will make a new factor pair.
Step 3:
Repeat Steps 1 and 2, using 490 as the new focus. Find the smallest prime factor that isn’t 1, and divide 490 by that number. In this case, 2 is the new smallest prime factor:
490 ÷ 2 = 245
Remember that this new factor pair is only for the factors of 490, not 980. So, to finish the factor pair for 980, you’d multiply 2 and 2 before pairing with 245:
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 980:
(1, 980), (2, 490), (4, 245), (5, 196), (7, 140), (10, 98), (14, 70), (20, 49), (28, 35)
So, to list all the factors of 980: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 10, 14, 20, 28, 35, 49, 70, 98, 140, 196, 245, 490, 980
The negative factors of 980 would be: -1, -2, -4, -5, -7, -10, -14, -20, -28, -35, -49, -70, -98, -140, -196, -245, -490, -980
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!