Prime factorization, also called complete factorization, is the decomposition of a whole number into a product of its prime factors. The prime factors are found by dividing the number by the smallest prime number that is a factor of that number. This process is repeated with the quotient until the resulting quotient is a prime number. The following table shows the prime factorization of $80.$

Number	Smallest Prime Factor	Quotient
$80$	$2$	$\frac{80}{2}=40$
$40$	$2$	$\frac{40}{2}=20$
$20$	$2$	$\frac{20}{2}=10$
$10$	$2$	$\frac{10}{2}=5$
Prime Factorization
$80=2\cdot 2\cdot 2\cdot 2\cdot 5$

Any whole number greater than $1$ can be factored into primes, and its factorization is unique. It should be noted that the prime factorization of a prime number is the number itself. Factor trees are also used to find prime factorizations.