Question

Describe how to write the prime factorization of a number.

Short answer

Prime factor of 12 is $\mathbf{12}=\mathbf{2}\times \mathbf{2}\times \mathbf{3}$.

Step-by-step solution

Step-1 – Given

A number will be given, and we have to find its prime factorization.

Step-2 – To determine

We have to write the prime factorization of a number.

Step-3 – Calculation

“Prime Factorization" means to find prime numbers those multiply together to make the original number.

For example:Find the prime factors of 12?

We first start with the smallest prime number, that is 2. We will try to divide 12 by 2.

$12÷2=6$

12 is perfectly divided by 2.

6 is not a prime number. We will divide by 2 again:

$6÷2=3$

2 also perfectly divided 6. And 3 is a prime number, this means the prime factorization of 12 is:

$12=2\times 2\times 3$

As we can see, every factor is a prime number. It means the answer is right.

Note: $\mathbf{12}=\mathbf{2}\times \mathbf{2}\times \mathbf{3}$can also be written as $\mathbf{12}={\mathbf{2}}^{\mathbf{2}}\times \mathbf{3}$