I need to find the number of distinct factors of $500$.
$500= 5*100 = 5* (10*10) = 5* (5*2) * (5*2) = 2^2 * 5^3$. So, the total number of positive factors are $(2+1)*(3+1) = 12$.
But, as the question asked to find distinct factors, should I count negative factors also? Or should I only count the positive factors?