Factor

Pronunciation: /ˈfæk tər/ ?

To factor is to divide an expression into parts which, when multiplied together, generate the original expression. For example if one factors

5t + 5

one gets

5(t + 1)

This can be tested by using the distributive property of multiplication to multiply 5 and t + 1 to get 5t + 5.

A factor of a number 'j' is another number, say 'i', that divides 'j'.

References

1. factor. http://wordnet.princeton.edu/. WordNet. Princeton University. (Accessed: 2011-01-08). http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=factor&sub=Search+WordNet&o2=&o0=1&o7=&o5=&o1=1&o6=&o4=&o3=&h=.
2. Boyden, Wallace C.. A First Book in Algebra, pp 76-88. Silver, Burdett & Company, 1894. (Accessed: 2010-02-03). http://www.archive.org/stream/firstbookinalgeb00boydrich#page/76/mode/1up/search/factor.
3. Schultze, Arthur. Advanced Algebra, pp 8-17. The Macmillan Company, 1906. (Accessed: 2010-02-03). http://www.archive.org/stream/advancedalgebra00schugoog#page/n24/mode/1up/search/factor.

More Information

• McAdams, David. Factoring Polynomials. allmathwords.org. All Math Words Encyclopedia. Life is a Story Problem.org. 2010-02-03. http://www.allmathwords.org/article.aspx?lang=en&id=Factoring Polynomials.
• McAdams, David. Factor Theorem. allmathwords.org. All Math Words Encyclopedia. Life is a Story Problem.org. 2010-02-03. http://www.allmathwords.org/article.aspx?lang=en&id=Factor Theorem.
• McAdams, David. Prime Factorization. allmathwords.org. All Math Words Encyclopedia. Life is a Story Problem.org. 2010-02-03. http://www.allmathwords.org/article.aspx?lang=en&id=Prime Factorization.

Printed Resources

Cite this article as:

Factor. 2010-02-24. All Math Words Encyclopedia. Life is a Story Problem.org. http://www.allmathwords.org/en/f/factor.html.

Translations

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Image Credits

• All images and manipulatives are by David McAdams unless otherwise stated. All images by David McAdams are Copyright © Life is a Story Problem.org and are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Revision History

2010-02-24: Added noun (McAdams, David.)
2010-02-03: Added "References" (McAdams, David.)
2008-07-01: Initial version (McAdams, David.)