FACTORS OF 42 -MINDSPARK

FACTORS OF 42

Factors are the numbers that completely divide the number and leave no remainder. 42 has the following factors:

The factors of 42 are as follows: 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 14, 21 and 42. The factors can be composite numbers or prime numbers as well. 

Prime numbers are those that have only two factors: the number itself and 1. So in the case of the number 42, the prime factors are 2, 3 and 7. The other factors such as 6, 14, 21 and 42 are composite numbers. They are divisible by more than 2 numbers. 

FINDING THE FACTORS

Since 42 is a composite number and has more than two factors, we can start from 1 and then count the numbers that completely divide 42. All of the numbers  are:

FINDING FACTORS BY PRIME FACTORISATION

Prime factorisation is a method where a composite number is broken down till the only numbers left are prime numbers. There are two methods for prime factorisation. They are the factor tree method and long division method.

Prime factorization using the factor tree method:

In this case, we use a tree where the number is the root and the factors are its branches. 

This gives the prime factorisation of 42 as 42 = 2 x 3 x 7.

Long division method

This is the upside-down division method where we choose the smallest prime number that divides the number and we keep on dividing until the last quotient found is 1. 

The long division method gives us the same answer that is 42 = 2 x 3 x 7.