Maths How To with Anita

How to Increase and decrease by a factor of 10

How to increase and decrease by a factor of 10

To increase a number by a factor of 10, you multiply it by 10.

To decrease a number by a factor of 10, you divide it by 10.

In this article, we’ll be looking at how to increase and decrease by a factor of 10 and everything about the factors of 10. This is a really common maths skill which can be applied to many different problems. So let’s get started!

How do you multiply by a factor of 10?

To multiply a number by a factor of 10, you simply move the decimal point one place to the right.

For example, if you have the number 1234 and you want to multiply it by 10, you would move the decimal point one place to the right and get the number 12340.

Similarly, if you have the number 5.67 and you want to multiply it by 10, you would move the decimal point one place to the right and get the number 56.7.

This is because our number system is base 10. Each place value is worth 10 times as much as the place to its right. So when we multiply by 10, we’re just moving all the digits to a higher place value by a factor of 10.

How do you multiply by a factor of 100?

To multiply a number by a factor of 100, you simply move the decimal point two places to the right.

For example, if you have the number 1234 and you want to multiply it by 100, you would move the decimal point two places to the right and get the number 123400.

What about dividing numbers by a factor of 10?

Dividing by a factor of 10 is the inverse (or opposite) operation to multiplying by a factor of 10. So instead of moving the decimal point one place to the right, you move it one place to the left.

For example, if you have the number 1234 and you want to divide it by 10, you would move the decimal point one place to the left and get the number 123.4.

Similarly, if you have the number 5.67 and you want to divide it by 10, you would move the decimal point one place to the left and get the number 0.567.

How do you divide by a factor of 100?

To divide by a factor of 100, you simply move the decimal point two places to the left.

For example, if you have the number 1234 and you want to divide it by 100, you would move the decimal point two places to the left and get the number 12.34.

Are there any shortcuts for multiplying or dividing by a factor of 10?

There are some shortcuts that you can use for multiplying or dividing by a factor of 10.

For multiplication, you can simply add a 0 to the end of a whole number. For example, if you want to multiply 135 by 10, you would just add a 0 to the end making 1350.

For division, If a number ends in 0, you can simply remove the 0. For example, if you want to divide 1350 by 10, you would just remove the 0 making 135.

What are the factors of 10?

The factors of 10 are 1, 2, 5, and 10.

The factors of a number are the numbers that divide evenly into that number with no remainder. So 10 is divisible by 1, 2, 5, and 10 with no remainder.

We call 10 a composite number since it has more than 2 factors.

How to find the factors of 10.

To find the factors of a number, you can simply use a factor tree.

A factor tree is a way of breaking a number down into its factors. You start with the number you want to find the factors of and then keep dividing by the smallest possible number until you can’t divide anymore.

For example, here is a factor tree for 10.

factor tree for 10

What are the factor pairs of 10?

The factor pairs of 10 are 1 and 10, and 2 and 5.

To find the factor pairs for 10 you can draw a factor rainbow like this.

They are 2 whole numbers that when multiplied together equal 10.

There aren’t any more whole numbers between 2 and 5 that are factors of 10 so that is all the factors.

factor rainbow for 10

What are the prime factors of 10?

The prime factors of 10 are 2 and 5. These are the numbers at the bottom of the factor tree.

2 and 5 are prime numbers because they have exactly 2 factors; 1 and themselves.

Negative factors of 10

The negative factors of 10 are -1, -2, -5, and -10.

Since the product of 2 negative number is positive, for the product to be positive 10 both factors must be negative (or both factors must be positive).

FAQs

Is there a difference between ‘reduce’ and ‘decrease’?

There is no difference between reduce and decrease. They both mean to make something smaller or to lessen the amount of something.

Reduce and decrease usually mean to subtract by an amount, whereas ‘reduce by a factor of 10’ or ‘decrease by a factor of 10’ means to divide by 10.

What is 0.7 as a factor?

0.7 is 7 tenths or 7/10. If you multiply a number by 0.7 it would become smaller because 0.7 is less than 1.

Increasing and decreasing by a factor of 10> Conclusion

Practice will make perfect when it comes to increasing and decreasing by a factor of 10. Keep trying until the process becomes second nature. Soon you’ll be able to apply this skill in all sorts of real-world situations!

Further factors

Learn more about the factors of other numbers here.