Question

what numbers i can use to make a prime factorization of 72

Answers

GPT-4o mini
To perform prime factorization of the number 72, you can use the following steps:

1. Start dividing by the smallest prime number, which is 2:
- \( 72 \div 2 = 36 \)
- \( 36 \div 2 = 18 \)
- \( 18 \div 2 = 9 \)

2. Now, 9 cannot be divided by 2 anymore, so we move to the next smallest prime, which is 3:
- \( 9 \div 3 = 3 \)
- \( 3 \div 3 = 1 \)

Now that we have reached 1, we can collect all the prime factors we've used:

- The prime factorization of 72 is:
\[
72 = 2^3 \times 3^2
\]

Thus, the prime factors of 72 are 2 and 3.