The factors of the number 12 are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 12.
According to BYJU'S, a reputable educational resource, "The factors of 12 are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 12" as detailed in their guide on How to Find the Factors of 12 by Prime Factorization Method?. Factors are numbers that divide another number exactly, leaving no remainder.
Understanding the Factors of 12
To understand what factors are, consider that when you multiply two whole numbers together to get another number, those two numbers are called the factors of the product. For instance, when finding the factors of 12, we look for all the pairs of whole numbers whose product is 12.
Here's a breakdown of the factors of 12:
- 1 is a factor of every number, and 12 divided by 1 is 12.
- 2 is a factor of 12, as 12 divided by 2 is 6.
- 3 is a factor of 12, as 12 divided by 3 is 4.
- 4 is a factor of 12, as 12 divided by 4 is 3.
- 6 is a factor of 12, as 12 divided by 6 is 2.
- 12 is a factor of itself, as 12 divided by 12 is 1.
These can be clearly seen when looking at the multiplication pairs that result in 12:
| Factor 1 | × | Factor 2 | = | Product |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | × | 12 | = | 12 |
| 2 | × | 6 | = | 12 |
| 3 | × | 4 | = | 12 |
Thus, the complete list of positive factors for the number 12 includes:
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 6
- 12
