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Pre-algebra
Prime and composite numbers intro
CCSS.Math:
Learn about prime and composite numbers and practice identifying them.
Let's review factors
Factors are whole numbers that can be divided evenly into another number.
1, comma, 3, comma, 5, comma and 15 are factors of 15 because they can all be divided into 15 without a remainder.
15, divided by, 1, equals, 15
15, divided by, 3, equals, 5
15, divided by, 5, equals, 3
15, divided by, 15, equals, 1
15, divided by, 3, equals, 5
15, divided by, 5, equals, 3
15, divided by, 15, equals, 1
15 has four factors: 1, comma, 3, comma, 5, and 15.
All numbers have start color #1fab54, 1, end color #1fab54 and start color #7854ab, start text, t, h, e, m, s, e, l, v, e, s, end text, end color #7854ab as factors.
3, divided by, start color #1fab54, 1, end color #1fab54, equals, 3
3, divided by, start color #7854ab, 3, end color #7854ab, equals, 1
3, divided by, start color #7854ab, 3, end color #7854ab, equals, 1
Categories of numbers
We can divide almost all numbers into two categories: prime numbers and composite numbers.
Prime numbers
Prime numbers are numbers with exactly 2 factors.
A prime number's only factors are start color #1fab54, 1, end color #1fab54 and the number start color #7854ab, start text, i, t, s, e, l, f, end text, end color #7854ab.
7 is an example of a prime number. Its only factors are start color #1fab54, 1, end color #1fab54 and start color #7854ab, 7, end color #7854ab. It is not evenly divisible by any other whole numbers.
Let's use pictures to visualize prime numbers.
Farmer Maxwell is making a chicken coop for his best egg laying hens. He has 7 hens and is thinking about how he can arrange them. He wants to arrange the hens in equal sized groups.
The only possibility is to make 1 row of 7 hens.
Any other arrangements would not have the same number of hens in each row.
When there is only one possible way to divide a number into equal sized groups, that number is prime.
Composite numbers
Composite numbers have more than 2 factors.
16 is an example of a composite number. The factors of 16 are 1, comma, 2, comma, 4, comma, 8 and 16, point All of these numbers divide into 16 evenly.
Let's use pictures to visualize composite numbers.
Farmer Maxwell is also inventing a new egg carton where he will store the eggs his hens lay. He wants each carton to hold 16 eggs.
He could have 1 row of 16 eggs.
He could also have 2 rows with 8 eggs in each row.
Or he could have 4 rows with 4 eggs in each row.
Composite numbers have more than one way that they can be divided into equal groups.
The number 1
1 does not fit into either category. It is neither prime nor composite.
Practice with prime and composite numbers
Prime number and composite number challenge
Use the clues given to solve the problems below.
Want to join the conversation?
- Is 0 an even number or an odd(3 votes)
- Zero is an even number. In other words, its parity—the quality of an integer being even or odd—is even. ... Not only is 0 divisible by 2, it is divisible by every power of 2, which is relevant to the binary numeral system used by computers. In this sense, 0 is the "most even" number of all.(7 votes)
- Why prime number is created(5 votes)
- Two is a prime number because prime numbers only have two factors,right?(2 votes)
- Is this important??(3 votes)
- yes this is important(2 votes)
- why is math called math?(3 votes)
- The word mathematics comes from Ancient Greek máthēma (μάθημα), meaning "that which is learnt", "what one gets to know", hence also "study" and "science". The word came to have the narrower and more technical meaning of "mathematical study" even in Classical times.-wikapieda(1 vote)
- what was the frist prime number.(3 votes)
- Can all prime numbers be odd?(3 votes)
- are all whole numbers ending in 6 composite(3 votes)
- I wonder why they make composite and prime numbers?(3 votes)
- prime and composite numbers were made so people got confused and their head exploded🤯(0 votes)
- hello i don't get what the different between primes and composite(1 vote)
- The difference between a prime and a composit number is that a prime number only has two factors: 1 and itself.
A composite number has more than two factors in it.
A few examples of prime numbers are 3, 5, and 7: these numbers can only be divided by 1 and themselves.
An example of a composite number is 15: It can be divided by 1, 3, 5, and 15.(3 votes)