Showing posts with label prime factorization. Show all posts
Showing posts with label prime factorization. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Prime Factorization

Hi, kids. By the end of this task, you will be able to

  1. Define what prime factorization is, &
  2. Use the factor tree method to find the prime factorization of any number.
Average online time: 20 min
Average offline time: 15 min


Let's review what 
prime factorization is.
We can define it as the string of prime factors whose multiplication is the given number.

Let’s use a factor tree to find the prime factorization of 84.

Let's look at the last row, it only contains prime numbers. We have found the prime factorization of 84.

84 = 2 x 2 x 3 x 7

We can also write it down using exponents. The factor 2 repeats twice, so what do we do?



Let's
check this out:


84 = 2 to the second power x 3 x 7


Your job is to pick up any number greater than 50 and post a comment including:

a) the prime factorization of the number

b) in case a prime number repeats twice or more, re-write the prime factorization using powers


See you around :)