What Is a Factor Pair?
The ability to find the factor pairs is a useful math skill usually taught to students as an introduction to algebra. The process is fairly simple and the student needs only a basic understanding of multiplication.
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Natural numbers
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These are all natural numbers since there are no decimals or fractions. A natural number is any whole number that is not zero. This means that any number from one to infinity is a natural number, if it doesn't have a decimal point or fraction associated with it. For example, 28 is a natural number, but 28.5 is not.
Multiplication
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Most students learn multiplication by studying multiplication tables. When two or more numbers are multiplied together, the result is called the product. For instance, in the equation: 2 x 3 = 6, the product is 6.
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Factor
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Factors are numbers that are multiplied together to obtain a product. The product of 5 x 6 = 30. The numbers 5 and 6 are factors.
Factor Pairs
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All natural numbers are the product of at least one factor pair. For instance, 17 has one factor pair: 1 and 17. The number 28 has several factor pairs: 1 and 28; 2 and 12; and 4 and 7. Any two natural numbers that can be multiplied to obtain a specific product is known as a factor pair.
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References
- Photo Credit ruler with multiplication table image by Stepanov from Fotolia.com numbers image by Vladislav Gajic from Fotolia.com
