Factors and Multiples Page 1 of 3
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Accompanying Resources: Digital Boom Cards, Activity for Google Sheets, Activity for Google Forms, Fun Group Activity
What is a Factor?Let's say you multiply 6 and 5 together to get 30. The answer that you get after multiplying is called the product. The numbers that you multiplied are called the factors. Factors are whole numbers that can be multiplied together to equal a product.
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In the example above, 6 and 5 are called factors of 30 because they can be multiplied together to equal 30 as the product.
How Do You Find Factors of a Number?
Sometimes you'll be asked to find all the factors of a number. This means you need to find all the numbers that can be multiplied together to equal the number you've been given.
Let's say we need to find all the factors of 15. This means we need to find all the numbers that can be multiplied together to equal 15. I always start with the number 1 and go up from there to make sure I don't miss any factors. Students who skip around tend to miss factors, so I strongly recommend going up one at a time and trying each number in order to see if it's a factor.
Is 1 a factor?
1 times 15 is equal to 15 so 1 and 15 are both factors. 1 will always be a factor because you can always multiply 1 by the number itself!
Is 2 a factor?
Can 2 be multiplied by a whole number to equal 15? No. 15 is not even so 2 can't be a factor.
Is 3 a factor?
Can 3 be multiplied by a whole number to equal 15? Yes! 3 times 5 is 15 so both 3 and 5 are factors of 15.
Is 4 a factor?
Can 4 be multiplied by a whole number to equal 15? Nope. Next we get to 5, but we already found that factor. Once you get up to a factor you've already found, you can stop.
Once you've found all the factors, you can list them out from smallest to largest.
Let's say we need to find all the factors of 15. This means we need to find all the numbers that can be multiplied together to equal 15. I always start with the number 1 and go up from there to make sure I don't miss any factors. Students who skip around tend to miss factors, so I strongly recommend going up one at a time and trying each number in order to see if it's a factor.
Is 1 a factor?
1 times 15 is equal to 15 so 1 and 15 are both factors. 1 will always be a factor because you can always multiply 1 by the number itself!
Is 2 a factor?
Can 2 be multiplied by a whole number to equal 15? No. 15 is not even so 2 can't be a factor.
Is 3 a factor?
Can 3 be multiplied by a whole number to equal 15? Yes! 3 times 5 is 15 so both 3 and 5 are factors of 15.
Is 4 a factor?
Can 4 be multiplied by a whole number to equal 15? Nope. Next we get to 5, but we already found that factor. Once you get up to a factor you've already found, you can stop.
Once you've found all the factors, you can list them out from smallest to largest.
Finding Factors Examples
See if you can find all the factors of 20. Then go the next page in the lesson to see if your answer is correct.
