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magmag
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Confused between different uses of "Divisor" 17 Sep 2013, 02:23
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I know that the words "divisor" & "factor" mean the same thing, at least from the GMAT point of view". For example: 2 is a factor (or divisor) of 12 because there exists an integer (6) which we we multiply 2 by gives us 12.

What confuses me is that this word "divisor" is also used in the GMAT quotient/remainder topic when we divide a number by another number e.g. 7/2 gives us a quotient of 3 and a remainder of 1. The number 7 is called the "dividend" and the number 2 is called the "divisor" (even though 2 does not really divide 7 evenly because there's a remainder 1) so how come it's still called a divisor?! Can someone shed some light on the confusion of using the same word "divisor" differently in both situations?



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Confused between different uses of "Divisor" 17 Sep 2013, 04:01
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magmag
I know that the words "divisor" & "factor" mean the same thing, at least from the GMAT point of view". For example: 2 is a factor (or divisor) of 12 because there exists an integer (6) which we we multiply 2 by gives us 12.

What confuses me is that this word "divisor" is also used in the GMAT quotient/remainder topic when we divide a number by another number e.g. 7/2 gives us a quotient of 3 and a remainder of 1. The number 7 is called the "dividend" and the number 2 is called the "divisor" (even though 2 does not really divide 7 evenly because there's a remainder 1) so how come it's still called a divisor?! Can someone shed some light on the confusion of using the same word "divisor" differently in both situations?
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When divisor divides any dividend and leaves '0' remainder, then such such divisor is called a FACTOR of that dividend.

Hope this will help.
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Confused between different uses of "Divisor" 17 Sep 2013, 04:13
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magmag
I know that the words "divisor" & "factor" mean the same thing, at least from the GMAT point of view". For example: 2 is a factor (or divisor) of 12 because there exists an integer (6) which we we multiply 2 by gives us 12.

What confuses me is that this word "divisor" is also used in the GMAT quotient/remainder topic when we divide a number by another number e.g. 7/2 gives us a quotient of 3 and a remainder of 1. The number 7 is called the "dividend" and the number 2 is called the "divisor" (even though 2 does not really divide 7 evenly because there's a remainder 1) so how come it's still called a divisor?! Can someone shed some light on the confusion of using the same word "divisor" differently in both situations?

When divisor divides any dividend and leaves '0' remainder, then such such divisor is called a FACTOR of that dividend.

Hope this will help.
Show more

Thanks for clarification. From what you said I can deduce that any factor can also be called a divisor but the opposite is not always true. i.e. not all divisors are factors. I hope I'm correct! :)
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Confused between different uses of "Divisor" 17 Sep 2013, 05:17
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magmag
I know that the words "divisor" & "factor" mean the same thing, at least from the GMAT point of view". For example: 2 is a factor (or divisor) of 12 because there exists an integer (6) which we we multiply 2 by gives us 12.

What confuses me is that this word "divisor" is also used in the GMAT quotient/remainder topic when we divide a number by another number e.g. 7/2 gives us a quotient of 3 and a remainder of 1. The number 7 is called the "dividend" and the number 2 is called the "divisor" (even though 2 does not really divide 7 evenly because there's a remainder 1) so how come it's still called a divisor?! Can someone shed some light on the confusion of using the same word "divisor" differently in both situations?

When divisor divides any dividend and leaves '0' remainder, then such such divisor is called a FACTOR of that dividend.

Hope this will help.

Thanks for clarification. From what you said I can deduce that any factor can also be called a divisor but the opposite is not always true. i.e. not all divisors are factors. I hope I'm correct! :)
Show more

Yes you are correct in that "not all divisors are factors" and "All factor are divisors"



Archived Topic
Hi there,
This topic has been closed and archived due to inactivity or violation of community quality standards. No more replies are possible here.
Where to now? Join ongoing discussions on thousands of quality questions in our Quantitative Questions Forum
Still interested in this question? Check out the "Best Topics" block above for a better discussion on this exact question, as well as several more related questions.
Thank you for understanding, and happy exploring!