Factors and Multiples

Factors and multiples are different things.

But they both involve multiplication:

 Factors are what we can multiply to get the number

 Multiples are what we get after multiplying the number by
an integer (not a fraction).
Example: the positive factors, and some multiples, of 6:

Factors:

 1 × 6 = 6, so 1 and 6 are factors of 6

 2 × 3 = 6, so 2 and 3 are factors of 6

Multiples:

 0 × 6 = 0, so 0 is a multiple of 6
 1 × 6 = 6, so 6 is a multiple of 6
 2 × 6 = 12, so 12 is a multiple of 6
 and so on

(Note: there are negative factors and multiples as well)

Here are the details:

Factors
"Factors" are the numbers we can multiply together to get another
number:

2 and 3 are factors of 6

 A number can have many factors.

Example: 12

 3 × 4 = 12, so 3 and 4 are factors of 12

 Also 2 × 6 = 12, so 2 and 6 are also factors of 12,
 And 1 × 12 = 12, so 1 and 12 are factors of 12 as well.

AND because multiplying negatives makes a positive , −1, −2, −3,

−4, −6 and −12 are also factors of 12:

 (−1) × (−12) = 12
 (−2) × (−6) = 12
 (−3) × (−4) = 12

So ALL the factors of 12 are:

1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 12
AND −1, −2, −3, −4, −6 and −12

Learn about Greatest Common Factor and how to find All Factors of
a Number .

Multiples
A multiple is the result of multiplying a number by an integer (not
a fraction).

Example: Multiples of 3:

..., −9, −6, −3, 0, 3, 6, 9, ...

Example: 15 is a multiple of 3, as 3 × 5 = 15
Example: 16 is not a multiple of 3
 Example: Multiples of 5:

..., −15, −10, −5, 0, 5, 10, 15, ...

Example: 10 is a multiple of 5, as 5 × 2 = 10
Example: 11 is not a multiple of 5

Learn more about Least Common Multiple.

Multiples of Anything

We must multiply by an integer, but the number that is being

multiplied can be anything.

Example: Multiples of π
..., −2π, −π, 0, π, 2π, 3π, 4π, ...

Greatest Common Factor

The highest number that divides exactly into two or more numbers.
It is the "greatest" thing for simplifying fractions!

Let's start with an Example ...

Greatest Common Factor of 12 and 16

 Find all the Factors of each number,

 Circle the Common factors,
 Choose the Greatest of those

So ... what is a "Factor" ?

Factors are numbers we can multiply together to get another number:
 A number can have many factors:

Factors of 12 are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 12 ...

... because 2 × 6 = 12, or 4 × 3 = 12, or 1 × 12 = 12.

(Read how to find All the Factors of a Number . In our case we don't
need the negative ones.)

What is a "Common Factor" ?

Say we have worked out the factors of two numbers:

Example: Factors of 12 and 30

Factors of 12 are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 12

Factors of 30 are 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 15 and 30

Then the common factors are those that are found in both lists:

 Notice that 1, 2, 3 and 6 appear in both lists?

 So, the common factors of 12 and 30 are: 1, 2, 3 and 6

It is a common factor when it is a factor of two (or more) numbers.

Here is another example with three numbers:

Example: The common factors of 15, 30 and 105

Factors of 15 are 1, 3, 5, and 15

Factors of 30 are 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 15 and 30
Factors of 105 are 1, 3, 5, 7, 15, 21, 35 and 105

The factors that are common to all three numbers are 1, 3, 5 and 15

In other words, the common factors of 15, 30 and 105 are 1, 3,

5 and 15
 What is the "Greatest Common Factor" ?
It is simply the largest of the common factors.

In our previous example, the largest of the common factors is 15, so

the Greatest Common Factor of 15, 30 and 105 is 15

The "Greatest Common Factor" is the largest of the common factors

(of two or more numbers)

Why is this Useful?

One of the most useful things is when we want to simplify a fraction:

Example: How can we simplify 1230 ?

Earlier we found that the Common Factors of 12 and 30 are 1, 2, 3 and

6, and so the Greatest Common Factor is 6.

So the largest number we can divide both 12 and 30 evenly by is 6,

like this:

÷6

1230 = 25

÷6

The Greatest Common Factor of 12 and 30 is 6.

And so 1230 can be simplified to 25

Finding the Greatest Common Factor

Here are three ways:

1. We can:

 find all factors of both numbers (use the All Factors Calculator),
 then find the ones that are common to both, and
 then choose the greatest.

Example:

Greatest Example
Two Common
Factors Common Simplified
Numbers Factors
Factor Fraction
9: 1,3,9
9 and 12 1,3 3 912 = 34
12: 1,2,3,4,6,12

And another example:

Greatest Example
Two Common
Factors Common Simplified
Numbers Factors
Factor Fraction
6: 1,2,3,6
6 and 18 1,2,3,6 6 618 = 13
18: 1,2,3,6,9,18

2. Or we can find the prime factors and combine the common ones
together:

Greatest Example Simplified

Two Numbers Thinking ...
Common Factor Fraction
2 × 2 × 2 × 3 = 24, and
24 and 108 2 × 2 × 3 = 12 24108 = 29
2 × 2 × 3 × 3 × 3 = 108

3. Or sometimes we can just play around with the factors until we

discover it:

Greatest Example Simplified

Two Numbers Thinking ...
Common Factor Fraction
9 and 12 3 × 3 = 9 and 3 × 4 = 12 3 912 = 34

But in that case we must check that we have found

the greatest common factor.
 Other Names
The "Greatest Common Factor" is often abbreviated to "GCF", and is
also known as:

 the "Greatest Common Divisor (GCD)", or

 the "Highest Common Factor (HCF)"

Least Common Multiple

The smallest positive number that is a multiple of two or more
numbers.

Let's start with an Example ...

Least Common Multiple of 3 and 5:

List the Multiples of each number,

The multiples of 3 are 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, ... etc

The multiples of 5 are 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, ... etc

Find the first Common (same) value:

The Least Common Multiple of 3 and 5 is 15

( 15 is a common multiple of 3 and 5, and is the smallest, or least,

common multiple )

So ... what is a "Multiple" ?

We get a multiple of a number when we multiply it by another
number. Such as multiplying by 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc, but not zero. Just
like the multiplication table.
Here are some examples:

The multiples of 4 are: 4,8,12,16,20,24,28,32,36,40,44,...

The multiples of 5 are: 5,10,15,20,25,30,35,40,45,50,...

What is a "Common Multiple" ?

Say we have listed the first few multiples of 4 and 5: the common
multiples are those that are found in both lists:

The multiples of 4 are: 4,8,12,16,20,24,28,32,36,40,44,...

The multiples of 5 are: 5,10,15,20,25,30,35,40,45,50,...

Notice that 20 and 40 appear in both lists?

So, the common multiples of 4 and 5 are: 20, 40, (and 60, 80, etc ...,
too)

What is the "Least Common Multiple" ?

It is simply the smallest of the common multiples.

In our previous example, the smallest of the common multiples

is 20 ...

... so the Least Common Multiple of 4 and 5 is 20.

Finding the Least Common Multiple

List the multiples of the numbers until we get our first match.
Example: Find the least common multiple of 4 and 10:

The multiples of 4 are: 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, ...

and the multiples of 10 are: 10, 20, ...

Aha! there is a match at 20. It looks like this:

So the least common multiple of 4 and 10 is 20

Example: Find the least common multiple of 6 and 15:

The multiples of 6 are: 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, ...

and the multiples of 15 are: 15, 30, ...

There is a match at 30

So the least common multiple of 6 and 15 is 30

More than 2 Numbers

We can also find the least common multiple of three (or more)
numbers.

Example: Find the least common multiple of 4, 6, and 8

Multiples of 4 are: 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, ...
Multiples of 6 are: 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, ...
Multiples of 8 are: 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, ....

So 24 is the least common multiple (I can't find a smaller one !)

Hint: You can have smaller lists for the bigger numbers.
How Can I Do It Myself?
Work from the outside in!

Example: All the factors of 20.

Start at 1: 1×20=20, so put 1 at the start, and put its "partner" 20 at

the other end:

1 20

Then go to 2. 2×10=20, so put in 2 and 10:

1 2 10 20

Then go to 3. 3 doesn't work (3×6=18, 3×7=21).

Then on to 4. 4×5=20, so put them in:

1 2 4 5 10 20