Top 6 Important Prime Factorization Facts You Should Know

 

Prime factors are the basic building blocks of number. In fact, the prime factors are the most important things that every number has. They are also the most powerful tools to solve various problems.

Factors and prime numbers are very much alike. They are both numbers with a power of 2. However, they are very different from each other. Factors are numbers that divide the given number into equal parts, while prime numbers are only divisible by themselves and 1.

Prime factorization is the process of dividing a number into its prime factors. The prime factors of a given number are the basic units that make up the number.

Here are some important prime factorization facts that you should know:

1) Prime factorization is the fastest way to divide the number.

2) There is no shortcut to prime factorization.

3) You should not use a calculator when trying to find the prime factorization of the number.

4) The prime factors of a composite number is not equal to the composite number itself.

5) Prime factorization is only useful if the number is known.

Let’s find the prime factorization of 24 using the traditional method.

The prime factorization of 24 is 2 x 2 x 3.

First we need to convert the number to decimal. We know that 24 = 8 + 8 + 12.

To convert 8 and 12 to decimal, we use 8 = 1000 and 12 = 100.

Now the prime factorization of 24 is 2 x 2 x 3.

Let’s find the prime factors of 24.

2 x 2 x 3 = 8 x 2 x 3 = 16 x 3 = 48

2) There is no shortcut to prime factorization.

You need to find the prime factors of the given number and then combine them in the right order.

So, how can you quickly find the prime factorization of a number?

1) First, find the prime factors of the given number. If the given number is divisible by any of the prime factors, then you have found the prime factorization.

For example, let’s find the prime factorization of the given number 24.

24 is divisible by 2, 3 and 8.

2 x 2 x 3 = 8 x 2 x 3 = 16 x 3 = 48

3) You should not use a calculator when trying to find the prime factorization of the number.

Using a calculator will only make your calculations harder. Your brain will work better than the calculator and you will easily get the prime factorization.

Conclusion:

In this post, I have shared top 6 important prime factorization facts that you should know.