Can a factor of a number be greater than the number?

Answer 1

No, unless you're factoring negative numbers. (For example, -36 = -1 x 36.) But a positive number cannot have a factor greater than it. The reason why is that if a larger number times something is a smaller (positive) number, that "something" must be between 0 and 1: a > b > 0 (where a and b are positive whole numbers) ax = b (for some x) Therefore, a > ax > 0. Dividing by a: 1 > x > 0, so x cannot be a whole number.