Big Ideas Math: Modeling Real Life, Grade 6
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3. Prime Factorization
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Exercise 37 Page 19

The prime factorization of a composite number is the number written as a product of its prime factors.

2*2*3*7, or 2^2* 3 * 7

Practice makes perfect
Let's start by recalling the definition of two important terms.
Term Definition Examples
Prime Number A number that has exactly two positive factors, 1 and itself. 3, 5, 13
Composite Number A number that is not a prime number. 4, 12, 63

We want to write the prime factorization of 84. The prime factorization of a composite number is the number written as a product of its prime factors. We will use factor pairs and a factor tree to find the prime factorization of 84. The factor tree is complete when only prime factors appear in the product.

The prime factorization of 84 is 2* 2* 3* 7, or 2^2* 3 * 7.