Factors and Multiples

A factor of a number divides into it with no remainder. For example, the factors of 12 are $1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12$ because each one goes into 12 exactly.

A multiple of a number is what you get when you multiply it by a positive integer. The first five multiples of 4 are $4, 8, 12, 16, 20$.

Factors come in pairs. For 12: $1 \times 12$, $2 \times 6$, $3 \times 4$. Use the diagram below to explore factor pairs and find common factors of two numbers.

Watch it work

Question: Find all the common factors of 18 and 24.

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