The factors of 56 are 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 14, 28 and 56. Of these factors, 1, 2 and 7 are prime numbers. Therefore, they are the prime factors of 56.
A factor of a base number is any number that is equal to or smaller than the base number that can be evenly divided into the base number. Each successful division yields two factors unless a number is a perfect square. For example, 56 divided by 7 is equal to 8, which makes both 7 and 8 factors. An example of a perfect square is 49, which when divided by 7 yields 7, which is a single factor.
