The factors of 42 are the numbers that can be multiplied together to get 42. To find the factors, we can start by checking which numbers divide evenly into 42.
The factors of 42 are:
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 6
- 7
- 14
- 21
- 42
To explain further, we divide 42 by each of these numbers:
- 42 ÷ 1 = 42
- 42 ÷ 2 = 21
- 42 ÷ 3 = 14
- 42 ÷ 6 = 7
- 42 ÷ 7 = 6
- 42 ÷ 14 = 3
- 42 ÷ 21 = 2
- 42 ÷ 42 = 1
Since all these divisions result in whole numbers, we confirm that each of these is indeed a factor of 42. In total, there are eight factors of 42.