Question

What is the prime factorization of 84?
2 times 3 times 7
2 squared times 3 times 7
2 Superscript 5 Baseline times 3

Answers

GPT-4o mini
The prime factorization of 84 is:

1. Start by dividing 84 by the smallest prime number, which is 2:
\( 84 \div 2 = 42 \)

2. Divide 42 by 2 again:
\( 42 \div 2 = 21 \)

3. Now, divide 21 by the next smallest prime number, which is 3:
\( 21 \div 3 = 7 \)

4. Seven is a prime number, so we stop here.

Putting it all together, the prime factorization of 84 is:
\[ 2^2 \times 3^1 \times 7^1 \]

So, the correct representation among your options is:
\[ 2^2 \times 3 \times 7 \]