Determine whether or not the number 4 is a factor of $\mathbf{2 , 8 7 1}$.

Step 1 ：To determine if a number is a factor of another, we can use the modulus operation. The modulus operation returns the remainder of a division operation. If the remainder is 0, then the number is a factor. In this case, we need to check if 2871 divided by 4 gives a remainder of 0.

Step 2 ：Let's denote the number as \(num\) and the potential factor as \(factor\). So, \(num = 2871\) and \(factor = 4\).

Step 3 ：We perform the modulus operation: \(num \mod factor\). If the result is 0, then \(factor\) is a factor of \(num\). If the result is not 0, then \(factor\) is not a factor of \(num\).

Step 4 ：Performing the operation, we find that the result is not 0. Therefore, we can conclude that 4 is not a factor of 2871.

Step 5 ：\(\boxed{\text{Final Answer: 4 is not a factor of 2871.}}\)