Consider the numbers 13, 16, 27, and 41.

a. Which of these numbers are prime? How do you know?
b. Which of these numbers are composite? How do you know?

1 answer

a. The numbers 13 and 41 are prime numbers. A prime number is a number greater than 1 that cannot be divided evenly by any other number except for 1 and itself. Since 13 and 41 cannot be divided evenly by any other number except for 1 and themselves, they are prime.

b. The numbers 16 and 27 are composite numbers. A composite number is a positive integer greater than 1 that can be divided evenly by at least one other number besides 1 and itself. Since 16 can be divided evenly by 2, 4, and 8, and 27 can be divided evenly by 3 and 9, they are composite numbers.