The easiest way to find all factors of a number is to use a systematic approach to find the factor pairs.

1 and the number itself will always be the first pair of factors. Then if the number is even, 2 is a factor. Work out how many 2s are needed to make the number and the answer is a factor, forming a pair with 2.

Continue to check for other factors until you reach half of the target number, at which point you will have found them all.

Remember: if the number is odd, then it will not have any even factors, so you only need to check for factors that are odd.

There are 2 great ways to record factors to ensure none are missed: factor bugs and factor pairs.

Play Bug battles! or Superbug smash! to practice finding factors

Finding the highest common factor (HCF) is useful for simplifying fractions .