🔑Prime numbers vs Composite numbers🧱
Whole numbers above 1 split into two groups. The difference comes down to how many factors a number has.
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🔑Prime numbers
- ✓Has exactly two distinct divisors: 1 and itself
- ✓Cannot be split into smaller whole-number factors
- ✓Examples: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11 and 13
- ✓The 'atoms' from which all integers are built
- ✓Two is the only even prime number
🧱Composite numbers
- ✓Has more than two divisors
- ✓Can be factored into smaller whole numbers
- ✓Examples: 4, 6, 8, 9, 10 and 12
- ✓Always expressible as a product of primes
- ✓Most whole numbers are composite
Verdict
Primes are the indivisible building blocks; composites are products of those blocks. The Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic says every integer above 1 has a unique prime factorization.
Frequently asked
Is 1 prime or composite?+
Neither. The number 1 has only one divisor, so it is classified as neither prime nor composite.
Why is 2 special among primes?+
It is the only even prime number; every other even number is divisible by 2 and thus composite.
What is prime factorization?+
Writing a composite number as a product of prime numbers, which is unique for every integer.
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