The factors of 120 are the whole numbers that divide 120 exactly, leaving no remainder: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20, 24, 30, 40, 60, 120. Use the calculator above for any number, or read on for the factor pairs, prime factorization and properties of 120.
What are the factors of 120?
A factor of 120 is any whole number that divides 120 with no remainder. Listing them from smallest to largest, the factors of 120 are:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20, 24, 30, 40, 60, 120
So 120 is a composite number with 16 factors in total. Every number has 1 and itself as factors; the interesting work is finding the ones in between.
Factor pairs of 120
A factor pair is two numbers that multiply to give 120. The factor pairs of 120 are:
| Factor pair | Product |
|---|---|
| 1 × 120 | 120 |
| 2 × 60 | 120 |
| 3 × 40 | 120 |
| 4 × 30 | 120 |
| 5 × 24 | 120 |
| 6 × 20 | 120 |
| 8 × 15 | 120 |
| 10 × 12 | 120 |
Prime factorization of 120
The prime factorization breaks 120 down into a product of prime numbers only:
$$ 120 = 2^{3} \times 3 \times 5 $$How to find the factors of 120, step by step
- Start at 1 — 1 divides every number, so 1 and 120 are always factors.
- Test each whole number from 2 upward: if it divides 120 exactly, it is a factor.
- Use factor pairs — each small factor gives a matching large factor, so you only need to test up to $\sqrt{120}$.
- List them in order to get all 16 factors of 120.
Factors versus multiples of 120
It is easy to mix these up. The factors of 120 are the numbers that divide into 120 (they are less than or equal to 120), while the multiples of 120 are what you get by multiplying 120 outward: 120, 240, 360, 480, and so on. In short: factors go in, multiples go out. 120 is an even number, and its smallest prime factor is 2.
Properties of 120
| Number of factors | 16 |
| Sum of factors | 360 |
| Sum of proper divisors | 240 |
| Prime or composite | Composite |
| Even or odd | Even |
| Perfect square | No |
| Prime factorization | 2^3 x 3 x 5 |
Is 120 abundant, deficient or perfect?
Number theorists classify a number by comparing it to the sum of its proper divisors (all its factors except itself). For 120, those proper divisors add up to 240, which makes 120 an abundant number (its proper divisors sum to 240, which is more than 120). Most numbers are deficient; abundant and perfect numbers are comparatively rare, which is what makes this property interesting.
Using the factors of 120 for GCF and LCM
The prime factorization $2^{3} \times 3 \times 5$ is the shortcut for combining 120 with another number. To find the greatest common factor (GCF), take the primes 120 shares with the other number, each to the lowest power. For the least common multiple (LCM), take every prime that appears in either number, each to the highest power. This is why the prime factorization is worth writing down — it does the heavy lifting for fractions, ratios and simplification.
Related factors and tools
Explore more: Factors of 108 Factors of 100 Factors of 98. Or find the factors of any number with the Factor Calculator. Exponents are the reverse idea — see logarithms and read the formal reference on divisors at Wikipedia.