Question

Express index notation, 156 as a product of its prime factors, using a factor tree

Answer 1

To express 156 as a product of its prime factors using a factor tree, we start by dividing 156 by its smallest prime factor, which is 2.

156
/ \
2 78

Now, we divide 78 by its smallest prime factor, which is 2.

156
/ \
2 78
/ \
2 39

Next, we divide 39 by its smallest prime factor, which is 3.

156
/ \
2 78
/ \
2 39
/ \
3 13

Since 13 is a prime number, we stop here.

Therefore, the prime factorization of 156 using a factor tree is:
2 * 2 * 3 * 13 or written in index notation: 2^2 * 3^1 * 13^1.