Key Point: Factors are the number that are multiplied in a multiplication problem.
Factors are numbers that are multiplied together to get a certain number. To better understand factors, let’s look at how you can find all the factors of 12.
Since 4 times 3 equals 12, the numbers 4 and 3 are factors of 12.
6 times 2 also equals 12, therefore the numbers 6 and 2 are also factors of 12.
Finally, 1 times 12 equals 12 so both 1 and 12 are included in our list of factors for the number 12.
It is standard practice to list all the factors of a number in order from least to greatest.
Some numbers, like 17, only have two factors. 1 and 17 are the only whole numbers you can multiply together to get 17. When a number has exactly 2 factors, and only 2 factors, it is called a prime number.
