Factors of 4: Prime Factorization & Factors in Pairs

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Muskan Shafi

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Factors of 4 are a list of numbers that can be evenly divided into 4. Factors of 4 are those numbers than can divide 4 exactly without leaving any remainder. There are three factors of 4 which are 1, 2, and 4.The prime factorization of 4 is 2 x 2 where 2 is the only prime factor of 4. 4 is a unique number as it is the smallest composite number and the smallest square of a prime number which is 2. The pair factors of 4 are the set of two numbers that give 4 as the product on multiplication with each other. The factors of 2 in pairs are (1, 4) and (2, 2).

Key Terms: Factors of 4, Remainder, Prime Factorization, Composite Number, Pair Factors, Multiplication, Prime Factor, Prime Number


What are Factors of 4?

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Factors of 4 are integers that divide 4 completely leaving zero as the remainder. If we multiply a pair of numbers together, and they result in the original number 4, the numbers are the factors of 4. 4 is an even composite number which implies that it has more than two factors. There are 3 factors of 4 in total. 1, 2, and 4 are the factors of 4. 

Factors of 4: 1, 2, 4

Factors of 4

Factors of 4


How to Calculate Factors of 4?

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4 is the smallest composite number which makes it very easy for one to calculate the factors of 4. The factors of 4 can be calculated using two methods which are: 

  • Division Method
  • Prime Factorization Method

The division method and the prime factorization method would give the same number of factors which are 1, 2, and 4.


Factors of 4 by Division Method

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The factors of 4 are found through the division method by dividing the number 4 by different numbers. The numbers that divide 4 exactly and leave the remainder of 0 are the factors of 4. 

  • 4/1 = 4 (Factor is 1; Remainder is 0)
  • 4/2 = 2 (Factor is 2; Remainder is 0)
  • 4/4 = 1 (Factor is 4; Remainder is 0)

Any other number than1, 2, and 4 will leave a remainder on dividing 4. Thus, the factors of 4 are 1, 2, and 4.

Read More: HCF


Factors of 4 by Prime Factorization

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Prime Factorization of 4 refers to the process of writing the number 4 as the product of its prime factors. Here are the steps to calculate the factors of 4 through prime factorization: 

  • Take a pair factor of 4, for instance, (1, 4)
  • We know that the number 1 cannot be split further. So, we will take the other number which is 4.
  • 4 is an even composite number that can be further factored as the product of 2 and 2. 
  • Thus, 4 can be written as 2 × 2.
  • Now, we can not factorize 2 further. Thus, the prime factorization of 4 is 2 × 2 or 22.

Prime Factorization of 4

Prime Factorization of 4

Read More: Prime Number Formula


Factors of 4 in Pairs

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Pair Factors of 4 refers to the pair of numbers, which on multiplication together results in 4. The pair factors of 4 can be positive as well as negative. The negative pair factors are also considered as they would give the value of 4 in positive only on multiplication with each other. 

Positive Pair Factors of 4

The positive pair factors of 4 are (1, 4) and (2, 2).

Positive Factors of 4 Positive Pair Factors of 4
1 × 4 (1, 4)
2 × 2 (2, 2)

Negative Pair Factors of 4

The negative pair factors of 4 are (-1, -4) and (-2, -2).

Negative Factors of 4 Negative Pair Factors of 4
-1 × -4 (-1, -4)
-2 × -2 (-2, -2)

Read More: Co Prime Numbers


Solved Examples on Factors of 4

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Example 1: List the common factors of 4 and 3.

Solution: Writing down all the factors of 4 and 3, we get

  • Factors of 4: 1, 2, and 4.
  • Factors of 3: 1, and 3.

We can see that there is only one common factor of 4 and 3 which is 1. 

Example 2: Niyati and her brother made 4 cupcakes for snacks. They want to evenly distribute the cupcakes. How many cupcakes will each of them receive?

Solution: We know that there are 4 cupcakes. It means that in order to distribute them equally among both of them. We need to divide 4 by 2. 

4/2 = 2, as 2 is a factor of 2.

Thus, both Niyati and her brother will get two cupcakes.

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Things to Remember

  • Factors of 4 are the integers that divide 4 uniformly with zero as the remainder. 
  • The number 4 has only three factors. 
  • The factors of 4 are 1, 2, and 4.
  • The prime factorization of 4 is 2 x 2.
  • 4 is the smallest composite number.
  • The factors of 4 in pairs are (1, 4) and (2, 2).
  • The sum of the factors of 4 is 7.

Sample Questions

Ques. What are the common factors of 4 and 5? (2 Marks)

Ans. Listing all the factors of 4 and 5, we get,

  • Factors of 4: 1, 2, and 4.
  • Factors of 5: 1 and 5.

Since 5 is a prime number, the only common factor of 4 and 5 is 1.

Ques. What are the common factors of 4 and 8? (2 Marks)

Ans. Writing down all the factors of 4 and 5, we get

  • Factors of 4: 1, 2, and 4.
  • Factors of 8: 1, 2, 4, and 8.

Thus, the common factors of 4 and 8 are 1, 2, and 4.

Ques. Which number gives 4 on multiplying with -2? (2 Marks)

Ans. We know that the negative factor pairs of 4 are (-1, -4), (-2, -2)

-2 × -2 = 4

Thus, when -2 is multiplied by -2, the product is given as 4.

Ques. Check whether 8 is a Factor of 4. (2 Marks)

Ans. No, 8 is not a factor of 4 as it is a multiple of 4. 8 is received when 4 is multiplied by the number 2. The multiples of 4 are 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, and so on.

Ques. What are the common factors of 48 and 4? (2 Marks)

Ans. The factors of 48 and 4 are 

  • Factors of 48: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24, and 48.
  • Factors of 4: 1, 2, and 4.

Thus, the factors of 48 which are also the factors of 4 are 1, 2, and 4.

Ques. What are Factors of 4? (2 Marks)

Ans. Factors of 4 are the numbers that divide the number four completely leaving zero as the remainder. Thus, the factors of 4 are 1, 2, and 4.

Ques. Write the prime factorization of 4. (1 Mark)

Ans. The prime factorization of 4 is written as 2 ×2 or 22.

Ques. State the positive and negative pair factors of 4. (2 Marks)

Ans. The positive and negative pair factors of 4 are as follows: 

  • Positive pair factors of 4: (1, 4) and (2, 2).
  • Negative pair factors of 4: (-1, -4) and (-2, -2).

Ques. Calculate the sum of factors of 4. (2 Marks)

Ans. We know that the factors of 4 are 1, 2, and 4, thus, 

Sum of factors of 4 = 1 + 2+ 4 = 7

Thus, the sum of the factors of 4 is 7.

Ques. Check if 2 is a factor of 4. (1 Mark)

Ans. Yes, 2 is a factor of 4 as the number 4 is completely divisible by 2, and it leaves a remainder of 0.

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CBSE X Related Questions

  • 1.
    In a class test, the sum of Anamika's marks obtained in Maths and Science is 30. Had she got 2 marks more in Maths and 3 marks less in Science, the product of the marks would have been 210. Find the marks she got in the two subjects.


      • 2.
        There are two sections A and B of Grade X. There are 28 students in Section A and 30 students in Section B. What is the minimum number of books you will acquire for the class library so that they can be distributed equally among students of Section A or Section B ?

          • 144
          • 2
          • 420
          • 272

        • 3.
          A bag contains 25 balls. Some of them are yellow and others are green. One ball is drawn at random. If probability of getting a green ball is \(3/5\), then find the number of yellow balls.


            • 4.
              If the quadratic equation \(9x^2 + 8kx + 16 = 0\) has real and equal roots, then the value of k is

                • 3
                • –3
                • –4
                • \(\pm 3\)

              • 5.
                If \( \alpha, \beta \) are the zeroes of the quadratic polynomial \( px^2 + qx + r \), then find the value of \( \alpha^3\beta + \beta^3\alpha \).


                  • 6.
                    If \(\alpha, \beta\) are the zeroes of the polynomial \(p(x) = x^2 - 3x - 1\), then find the value of \(\frac{1}{\alpha} + \frac{1}{\beta}\).

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