Factors of 6

Introduction

Do you know what these numbers have in common? 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14…That’s right, they are even numbers. One important thing to remember that even numbers can do that other sets of numbers can’t do is that they are equally divisible by 2.

This is important to remember when trying to find the factors of a number. If it is an even number, then you will automatically have the number 2 as a factor.

Another good tip is that multiples of 3 have something in common too that’s important for finding factors. You guessed it. Those numbers can be divisible by 3. So, 3 would be a factor for those numbers.

A Small Number with Factors

The good thing to know is that the smaller numbers usually have fewer factors. So, if you get stuck trying to find all of the factors for a large number, it will probably take you longer. Let’s compare the number 6 with the number 1200.

Obviously, six will have 6 or fewer factors. However, 1200 could have as many as 1200. Of course, it won’t because there are numbers that won’t evenly divide into 1200, but you will have to spend time seeing if several numbers can divide into 1200 evenly.

Back to the number 6, let’s find the factors for this small number. Look at the tips below that you can use for all numbers and not just small numbers.

Tip 1: Start off with 1 and itself. (1,6)

Tip 2: Even numbers will always have 2 as a factor (1, 2, 6)

Also, remember its partner. $$2\;\times\;\_\_\_\_\;=\;6$$
Two and three are factors because 2 times 3 equals 6.

Tip 3: Multiples of 3 are evenly divisible by 3. (1, 2, 3, 6)

Also, remember its partner. $$3\;\times\;\_\_\_\_\;=\;6$$

After starting with these tips, you will need to find the other factors, but this will be a good start and knock some of the factors out of the way. For a small number like 6, this shouldn’t take you much time.

Factors of 6 are 1, 2, 3, and 6

Challenging Problems

Question 1List the factors of 6

Which positive whole numbers divide 6 without leaving a remainder?

Answer

The factors of 6 are 1, 2, 3, 6.

Each listed number divides the original number evenly.

Question 2Find the factor pairs of 6

Which multiplication pairs have a product of 6?

Answer

6 has these positive factor pairs: 1 × 6; 2 × 3.

Multiplying the two numbers in any pair gives the original number.

Question 3Prime-factorize 6

What is the prime factorization of 6?

Answer

6 = 2 × 3.

Every number in the product is prime.

Question 4Classify 6

Is 6 prime or composite?

Answer

6 is composite.

It has more than two positive factors: 1, 2, 3, 6.