can any1 explain to me what a prime number is and why?

Answer 1

Well I don't know about You angeleye but I am non the wiser.

Answer 2

Hiya! A prime number is simply, 'A number that can only be wholly divided by itself and the number one'.

Let's take the number 10, for example. We know that 10 can be divided by itself, as in 10/10=1. We also know that 10 can be divided by the number 1, as in 10/1=10. However, the number 10 is NOT a prime number because we know that 10 can also be divided by 2 to give, 10/2=5 and also 5, to give 10/5=2. All these divisors are collectively called the 'factors' of 10.

Now, let's take the number 7 as an example. Ok, dividing number 7 by itself gives you 7/7=1. Also, dividing the number 7 by the number 1 gives you 7/1=7. With the exception of these two numbers, we CANNOT divide the number 7 by any other number to give you a WHOLE number, hence, the number 7 is a prime number.

The first few prime numbers are 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13.....etc. I hope that has helped.

Answer 3

a prime number can only be divided by itself and 1.

1 is not a prime number becasue only 1 can go into it.
2 is the first prime number as only 2 and 1 can both divide into it.

other than 2 a number can not be prime if it is even because 2 would always be a facot of that even number giveing it at least 3 factors taht go into it evenly.

the primes less than 100
2 3 5 7 11 13 17 19 23 29 31 37 41 43 47 53 59 61 67
71 73 79 83 89 97

Answer 4

Prime numbers are those numbers (greater than 1) that cannot be divided by any number except themselves and one. There exists an infinitude of prime numbers, . The first 30 prime numbers are 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89, 97, 101, 103, 107, 109, and 113

Answer 5

In mathematics, a prime number (or a prime) is a natural number that has exactly two (distinct) natural number divisors, which are 1 and the prime number itself. There exists an infinitude of prime numbers, as demonstrated by Euclid, in about 300 B.C.. The first 30 prime numbers are 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89, 97, 101, 103, 107, 109, and 113 (sequence A000040 in OEIS); see the list of prime numbers for a longer list.

The property of being a prime is called primality, and the word prime is also used as an adjective. Since 2 is the only even prime number, the term odd prime refers to all prime numbers greater than 2.

The study of prime numbers is part of number theory, the branch of mathematics which encompasses the study of natural numbers. Prime numbers have been the subject of intense research, yet some fundamental questions, such as the Riemann hypothesis and the Goldbach conjecture, have been unresolved for more than a century. The problem of modelling the distribution of prime numbers is a popular subject of investigation for number theorists: when looking at individual numbers, the primes seem to be randomly distributed, but the "global" distribution of primes follows well-defined laws.

The notion of prime number has been generalized in many different branches of mathematics.

In ring theory, a branch of abstract algebra, the term "prime element" has a specific meaning. Here, a non-zero, non-unit ring element a is defined to be prime if whenever a divides b c for ring elements b and c, then a divides at least one of b or c. With this meaning, the additive inverse of any prime number is also prime. In other words, when considering the set of integers ( ) as a ring, − 7 is a prime element. Without further specification, however, "prime number" always means a positive integer prime. Among rings of complex algebraic integers, Eisenstein primes, and Gaussian primes may also be of interest.
In knot theory, a prime knot is a knot which can not be disaggregated into a smaller prime knot.
In both the two above examples, the fundamental theorem of arithmetic (Every natural number can be 'uniquely' decomposed into a product of primes) does not apply.

Answer 6

A prime number is any integer greater than 1 that can only be divided evenly by itself and 1. There are an infinite number of prime numbers, starting with 2,3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23,.......although some mathemeticians question whether 2 is a true prime. Arithmetic shows that the primes are the building blocks of the positive integers: every positive integer is a product of prime numbers in one and only one way, except for the order of the factors.

Answer 7

A prime number is a number that can only be divided by itself and 1.

Prime numbers are the building blocks of all other numbers. Any number can be made by adding other prime numbers together. Try it and see!

Examples of a prime number is 2, 3, 5, 7 , 11.

Take 9 for example, it is not a prime number because it is divisible by 1, 3, and 9.

The search for a general formula for prime numbers have inspired many prominent mathematicians including Fermat, Euler, Gauss, etc. It is a very interesting field of mathematics and certainly is one of the sides of mathematics that is featured most prominently.

For example, in the movie Contact, the aliens from another planet were said to communicate with earth by sending messages that were a string of continuous prime numbers. Reason being that only a sophisticated society will be able to identify immediately that the string of numbers is not just 'white noise'.

Answer 8

A prime number is a number divisible only by one and itself - i.e. it can't be divided by any other number.
So, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19 etc are all prime numbers, because they can't be divided by anything except themselves and one.
By contrast, the other numbers like 4, 6, 9, 10, 12 can be divided in a couple of different ways at least - e.g. 12 can be divided by 2, 3, 6 as well as 12 and 1.
Hope that helps.

Answer 9

A prime number is a number that can only be divided by 1 and itself, e.g. 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23...

Why? It is just a definition by us humans for all the different interesting phenomenon around us.

Answer 10

A number that is only divisible by one and itself.

E.g. 2, 3, 5, 7, 11

1 is not generally counted as a prime number.

2 is the smallest prime number.

Answer 11

A prime number is something which only divides into itself and 1.

For example 7 is a prime number as
1x7 = 7, but nothing else makes it.

Take note: One isn't a prime number as its only divisible by 1, there fore not prime.