really stupid maths question!?

No they are not the same.

factors are breakdown numbers of a number.

for example.

let's take 8.

1 * 8 = 8

2 * 4 = 8

2 * 2 * 2 = 8

so 1 & 8 and 2 & 4 are the factors of 8 and even 2*2*2

factors when multiplied make up the said number.

while multiples are just the multiples of a number, which are essential infinite.

8*1=8

8*2=16

8*3=24

..

...

....

8*10000 = 80000

and so on.

these are all multiples of 8.. the numbers that are after the = sign.

The factors of a number are the numbers you can multiply together to get that number. So, the factors of 10 are 1 and 10, 2 and 5.

The multiples of a number are the numbers that have your original number as a factor. So, the multiples of 10 are 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60...and so on. The factors of 20 are 1 and 20, 2 and 10, 4 and 5. The factors of 30 are 1 and 30, 2 and 15, 3 and 10, 5 and 6. The factors of 40 are 1 and 40, 2 and 20, 4 and 10, 5 and 8. Every one of the multiples of 10 has 10 as one of its factors.

Hope this helps!

Nope. A factor of a number, is an integer which divides the number without leaving a remainder. A multiple is the number obtained by multiplying the 2 numbers.