What are multiples and factors?

Factors are numbers that divide exactly into another number.

For example, the factors of 8 are:

1, 2, 4, 8

Factors can be shown in pairs. Each pair multiplies to make 8.

The factor pairs of 8 can be shown:

1 x 8 = 8

2 x 4 = 8

Multiples are really just extended times tables.

The multiples of 2 are all the numbers in the 2 times table, such as 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and so on.

Multiples of 2 always end with:

2, 4, 6, 8 or 0

You can tell 2286, for example, is a multiple of 2 because it ends with a 6.

The multiples of 5 are all the numbers in the 5 times table, such as 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and so on.

Multiples of 5 always end with

5 or 0

You can tell 465, for example, is a multiple of 5 because it ends with a 5.

Looking for a way to bring the magic of maths to your classroom? This short animated film is from the BBC Teach Series, Hypatia's Mathematical Maze, and introduces the concepts of factors, multiples and primes.

BBC Teach has thousands of free, curriculum-linked resources to help deliver lessons - all arranged by subject and age group.