Question
how do you find prime factorization?
Answers
stephanie
how to calculate food you buy
Sally
how does that help me find prime factorization?
Amy
You reduce your number down to be only factors that are prime.
Example:
36 factors into 3 x 12. 3 is prime, but 12 is not, so you need to factor 12. 12 can break down into 3 x 4. 3 is prime, 4 isn't. 4 breaks down into 2 x 2. 2 is prime.
The prime factorization for 36 would be 2x2x3x3 or 2^2 x 3^2.
It would be easier to show as a factor tree, but I'm not sure I could type one out :)
Example:
36 factors into 3 x 12. 3 is prime, but 12 is not, so you need to factor 12. 12 can break down into 3 x 4. 3 is prime, 4 isn't. 4 breaks down into 2 x 2. 2 is prime.
The prime factorization for 36 would be 2x2x3x3 or 2^2 x 3^2.
It would be easier to show as a factor tree, but I'm not sure I could type one out :)