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A prime number cannot be divided by any number apart from 1 and the number itself. This is because any other even number can be divided by 2 as well. It can only be made by multiplying the whole numbers 1 × 2.Ģ is special because it is the first prime number. We will look at the list of numbers to 12 and identify the prime numbers.ġ is neither prime nor composite because it cannot be made by multiplying two smaller whole numbers.Īll of the other numbers larger than 1 are either prime or composite.Ģ is a prime number. If they are not prime, then they are composite and if they are not composite, they are prime. This is because people think of prime numbers as numbers that cannot be broken down, whereas the proper definition is to check if it has two factors, which the number 1 doesn’t.Īpart from the number 1, all whole numbers are either prime or composite. It is worth pointing out that it is a common mistake to count 1 as a prime number. This is the same number and it is not smaller. To be a composite number, the number needs to be made by multiplying two other smaller whole numbers.ġ is only made by multiplying 1 by 1.
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A number needs exactly 2 different factors to be a prime. It does not matter that there are two of them, it is still the same number. Therefore it only has one factor, which is the number 1. The number 1 can only be written as 1 × 1.
![list of prime numbers list of prime numbers](https://image.shutterstock.com/image-vector/list-prime-numbers-below-100-600w-1673230807.jpg)
These are the whole numbers that divide exactly into a number.īasically, 1 cannot be broken down into smaller whole numbers.
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This is because the definition of a prime number is a number that has exactly two factors. We must try and divide all of the smaller whole numbers into a number to test if a number is prime.ġ is not a prime number. Prime numbers are hard to find because there is no pattern or rule to find them. We can see it only has two factors, the number 1 and the number 2.Ī number is not prime if it is in another number’s times tables. It is the same number that we started with and it did not get any smaller.īecause only the number 1 and the number 2 itself can divide into 2, we call it a prime number. When we do this, we still end up with a 2 that is multiplied by 1. The only way to make 2 by multiplying is 1 × 2. There are no other numbers that can divide into 2 exactly. It can only be made by multiplying 1 × 2. This means that a prime number cannot be made by multiplying two other whole numbers.Īpart from the number 1 and the number itself, no other whole numbers will divide into a prime number exactly.Ģ is the first prime number. The numbers that divide into a composite number exactly are called factors.Ī prime number has exactly 2 different factors, which are the number 1 and the number itself. If a whole number can divide into it exactly, then it is a composite number. To test if a number is a composite number, try to divide smaller whole numbers into it. 2 is a different number to 4 and it is a smaller number than 4. A composite number is a number that is made by multiplying two other whole numbers.įor example, 4 is a composite number because it can be made by multiplying two 2’s together.Ĭomposite numbers can be broken down into two smaller whole numbers.