Hope this Factor Tree of ours guide will be useful to you. Here we (FactorTree.Blog) have analyzed the different factors in a very simple way.

Factors of 4 | Factor Tree of 4

Today we are going to present here Factor Tree of 4. The factor is the number that divides the original number. The factors of 4 are 1, 2 and 4 itself.

Factors of 4

What are the factors of 4?

We want to find all the whole numbers that can divide 4 without leaving any remainder.

We'll try dividing 4 by whole numbers, starting from 1, and see if the division is exact (i.e., leaves no remainder). We only need to test numbers up to 4 itself.

Test with 1:

Is 4 divisible by 1? Yes!

4 ÷ 1 = 4

This means 1 and 4 are factors of 4. (Remember, 1 is always a factor and the number itself is always a factor).

Test with 2:

Is 4 divisible by 2? Yes!

4 ÷ 2 = 2

This means 2 is a factor of 4.

Test with 3:

Is 4 divisible by 3? No.

4 ÷ 3 = 1 with a remainder of 1.

So, 3 is not a factor of 4.

Test with 4:

Is 4 divisible by 4? Yes!

4 ÷ 4 = 1

We've already identified 4 as a factor in Step 1. We can stop here, as any number greater than 4 (like 5, 6, etc.) will definitely not divide 4 exactly.

So, the positive factors of 4 are 1, 2, and 4.

Prime Factorization of 4

We will use two common methods to find its prime factors.


1. The "Ladder" Method:

What is the smallest prime number that can divide 4 exactly?

The smallest prime number is 2.

4 ÷ 2 = 2.

Take the result, which is 2.

What is the smallest prime number that can divide 2 exactly?

Again, it's 2.

2 ÷ 2 = 1.

Stop when you reach 1.

The prime factors are all the divisors you used on the left side of your calculation.

    1|4

    2|2

Therefore, the prime factorization of 4 is 2 × 2.


2. The "Branching" Method:

Find any two factors of 4 (other than 1 and 4 itself).

The most obvious factors are 2 and 2.

Draw branches connecting 4 to 2 and 2.

     4

    / \

(2) (2)

Is 2 a prime number? Yes! (Remember, its only factors are 1 and 2).

The circled numbers at the end of the branches are your prime factors.

Therefore, the prime factorization of 4 is 2 × 2.

Conclusion:

No matter which method you use, you'll arrive at the same unique prime factorization:

4 = 2 × 2

This can also be written in exponential form as 2².

Previous Post