Recognition of numbers supports the development of other number skills, such as counting. For example, one of the most important ideas about counting that many children do not develop is this: The last counting word tells how many. Children will count three objects, but then, when asked how many, will recount. But if they recognize groups of one, two, and three, then when they count out one, they see they have one, when they count out two, they see they have two, and when they finish and count three, they see three. They relate it to what they already know, and so the counting is more meaningful. Factors and multiples are two unique things. However, they have one thing in common, which is multiplication. We multiply two factors to get multiples.
For example: 2 * 6 = 12. Here 2 and 6 are factors, and 12 is called the multiple of 6.
Factors and multiples are useful for finding out the Highest Common Factor (HCF) and Least Common Multiple (LCM). You will learn more about factors and multiples in this chapter.