To express the whole number 125 as a product of prime numbers with exponents, we first need to factor 125 into its prime components.
We can start by dividing 125 by the smallest prime number, which is 2. However, since 125 is odd, it is not divisible by 2. Next, we try dividing by 3, which also does not work (125 is not divisible by 3).
Next, we check 5:
- \(125 \div 5 = 25\)
Now we factor 25, which can be divided by 5 again:
- \(25 \div 5 = 5\)
Finally, we end up with:
- \(5 \div 5 = 1\)
So, we see that 125 can be factored as follows:
\[ 125 = 5 \times 5 \times 5 = 5^3 \]
Therefore, the expression of 125 as a product of prime numbers with exponents is:
\[ 125 = 5^3 \]