Learn How to Factor Numbers
Knowing how to factor numbers is a skill that is needed to answer algebra questions on your math examination.
How to Factor Numbers – Exercises
Instructions: Factor out the greatest common whole number factors in the expressions in the quiz below. You may want to view the examples on the bottom of the page first.
[WpProQuiz 12]
What is Factoring?
To factor numbers in algebra, you need to look for patterns among the numbers.
Factoring numbers involves division, as well as finding the greatest common factor.
Factoring numbers means that you have to discover which numbers can be multiplied together to get the result.
So, for example, we can factor the number 24 as follows:
1 × 24
2 × 12
3 × 8
4 × 6
Factoring is the opposite of distribution.
Factoring Out Numbers in Algebraic Expressions
On your math test, you will need to know how to factor out numbers from algebraic expressions.
When factoring numbers from an expression, you need to find out what number is common to each term in the expression.
Look at the example below:
16a –24b + 44c2
To factor out the numbers from the expression above, we need to find out the common multipliers for 16, 24, and 44.
We can see that each of the numbers is has a multiplier of 2:
2 × 8 = 16
2 × 12 = 24
2 × 22 = 44
We can also see that each of the numbers is has a multiplier of 4:
4 × 4 = 16
4 × 6 = 24
4 × 11 = 44
So, the greatest common factor is 4.
We can then factor out the numbers in the expression as shown below.
16a –24b + 44c2 =
(4 × 4)a – (4 × 6)b + (4 × 11)c2 =
4(4a – 6b + 11c2)
Further Exam Practice
If you have not already done so, you should have a look at out posts on greatest common factor and factoring variables.
You might also like to have a look at our other questions on factoring and algebra.
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