Prime Numbers

In Math a prime number is a positive whole number larger than  1,  that can only be divided exactly by  1  and also itself.
Meaning that for a prime number,  1  and the number itself are the only factors.


For example, the number  5  is a prime number.

5 ÷ 1  =  5       and       5 ÷ 5  =  1       ,       1 × 5  =  5

No other positive numbers apart from 1 and 5, divide 5 exactly resulting in a whole number.


The first five prime numbers are:       2 , 3 , 5 , 7 , 11

In fact,  2  is the only prime number that is an even number.

Composite Numbers

When talking about numbers that are prime, something that should also be mentioned is what are known as ‘composite numbers’.
Numbers that are not a prime number, are classed as composite numbers.


For example,  8  is a composite number.

8 ÷ 2  =  4       and       8 ÷ 4  =  2       ,       2 × 4  =  8


The number  1  is neither a prime number nor a composite number in Math.

Prime Numbers Chart

Below is a prime number chart showing the prime numbers up to  100.

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