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• Factors of 16 – Definition With Examples

Factors of 16 – Definition With Examples

Rachelle Bencio Yu

Updated on January 6, 2026

Used to think that factors are something difficult? Let’s break it with Brighterly in this article. We will explore what are all the factors of 16 in a simple way, so it’s not a chance you can’t catch it.

What are factors of 16?

The integers that can be divided evenly into 16 are 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16. What goes into 16? The numbers that precisely divide a number without leaving a remainder are known as factors. Each number has a set of factors that includes the number itself and at least 1. Prime factorization, factor pairs, multiplication, and division methods can all be used to determine a number’s factors. Will show it later in the article.

How many factors does 16 have?

The number 16 possesses a total of five factors: 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16. All the integers that divide by 16, without leaving any remainder, are known as factors of 16. So, for this, we look at some examples. 

1×16 = 16 

4×4 = 16

2x 8 = 16. 

So factors of 16 are 1, 2, 4 and 8, and 16.

How to find all the factors of 16?

To determine the factors of 16, we use division, multiplication, and prime factorization methods. Let’s check how they work.

Division technique

All you need to find the factors of 16 using the division method is to divide 16 by the lowest prime number. Keep doing this until all the prime numbers in the factors of 16 have been used.

• 16 ÷ 1 = 16
• 16 ÷ 2 = 8
• 16 ÷ 4= 4
• 16 ÷ 8 = 2
• 16 ÷ 16 = 1

So, 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 are factors of 16.

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Multiplication technique

To find the factors of 16, you can use the multiplication method to pair up the factors and multiply them to get the original number (16). What multiplies to 16? Let’s examine the various pairs to reach 16.

• 1 × 16= 16
• 2 × 8 = 16
• 4 × 4 = 16

Thus, the multiplication method yields the pairs (1, 16), (2, 8), and (4, 4).

Factor pairs of 16

Factor pairs of 16 are the integers that multiply to form the starting number. Nevertheless, both positive and negative pair factors will exhibit them. Now, let’s examine the factor pairs for 16 listed below:

Positive factor pair of 16 

By multiplying the two integers in a pair by 16, one can determine the “Pair factors of Positive integers”:

• 1 × 16= 16
• 2 × 8 = 16
• 4 × 4 = 16

Thus, (1, 16), (2, 8), and (4, 4) are the positive pair factors of 16.

Negative factor pair of 16

By multiplying the two integers in a pair by 16, one can determine the “pair factors of negative integers”:

• -1 × -16 = 16
• -2 × -8 = 16
• -4 × -4 = 16

Thus, (-1, -16), (-2, -8), and (-4, -4) are the negative pair factors of 16.

Prime factorization of 16

The following points represent the prime factorization of 16:

• Let’s start with 16.
• Divide it by the smallest prime number, 2.
• Continue dividing by two until the result is no longer an even integer.

Thus, Finally, we obtain the prime factor of 16, which is 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 or 2².

Prime factorization of 16 by division

Perform prime factorization on 16 by repeatedly dividing it by the smallest primes until the process is complete. 16 ÷ 1 = 16 16 ÷ 2 = 8 16 ÷ 4 = 4 16 ÷ 8 = 2 16 ÷ 16 = 1 Thus, factors of 16 are, 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16

Prime factorization of 16 by the factor tree

A graphical technique for dividing a number into its prime factors is the factor tree. The process of dividing the initial number by its prime factors of 16 until all of the remaining factors are prime numbers is shown graphically. The following outlines the methodical procedure for figuring out the Factor Tree of 16:

To get eight, we first divide by two. We carry out this process twice more.

• Starts with 16.
• Next, divide 16 into 2 and 8.
• After that, 8 will be divided into 2 and 4, while 2 will stay the same.
• Finally, only 4 will be divided into 2 and 2.

The factor tree for 16 is shown below:

Prime factorization of 16 by upside-down division

What is the prime factorization of 16 by the upside-down division method?

• Called “upside-down” because the division symbol is flipped.
• Continuously divide 16 by 2 until you arrive at 1. If the number is odd, start with 3 instead.
• Again, the prime factorization is 2 × 2 × 2 × 2.

Difference between factors and multiples of 16

Kids often mix up factors and multiples, but it’s pretty simple. 

All the factors of 16 worksheets

Here we gathered all the useful worksheets for factors 16 learning:

• Factors And Multiples Worksheets
• Factors Worksheets

Solved examples of factors of 16

Example 1: What are the common factors of 10 and 16?

Solution: The factors of the given numbers are:

10 = 1, 2, 5, 10
16 = 1, 2, 4, 8, 16

Example 2: Find the common factors of 48 and 16.

Solution: All factors of 16 are:

16 = 1, 2, 4, 8, 16
48 = 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24, 48

Example 3: Express 16 as the product of its prime factors.

Solution: Use prime factorization to express 16 as a product of prime numbers:

16 = 2 × 2 × 2 × 2

Example 4: What is the total of factors 16?

Solution:

1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 are the factors of 16.

The total is 1 + 2 + 4 + 8 + 16 = 31

Factors of 16: Practice problems

1. Which number is a factor of 16?
   a) 3
   b) 5
   c) 4
   d) 7
2. How many factors does 16 have?
   a) 4
   b) 5
   c) 6
   d) 8
3. Which of these pairs are factor pairs of 16?
   a) (2, 6)
   b) (2, 8)
   c) (3, 5)
   d) (4, 5)
4. If you list the factors of 16, which of the following is NOT a factor of 16?
   a) 2
   b) 8
   c) 5
   d) 16
5. What is the largest factor of 16 besides 16 itself?
   a) 4
   b) 2
   c) 8
   d) 1

FAQ on factors of 16

What are the factors of 16?

The factors of 16 are 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16. 

How many factors does 16 have?

Number 16 has five factors. They are 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16.

Is 3 a factor of 16?

3 is not a factor of 16. The number 3 does not divide evenly into 16, so it is not one of its factors.

What numbers multiply to 16?

The numbers that multiply to 16 are 1 × 16, 2 × 8, and 4 × 4. 

What are the factors of –16?

The factors of –16 are ±1, ±2, ±4, ±8, and ±16. 

Rachelle Bencio Yu

40 articles

Rachelle Bencio Yu is a qualified tutor with more than 15 years of experience teaching math to children from Pre-K to 12th grade. Currently, she is one of the best teachers at Brighterly educational platform and an author of educational content on the Brighterly blog.