composite numbers can be prime factorized
4 = 2*2, 8 = 2*2*2, 100 = 2*2*5*5.
but what about 1, which is composite.
is it correct that 1 is the only composite number that cannot be factorized by prime numbers? or is this incorrect?
thanks 4 ur help!
2007-05-02 06:37:44 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Mathematics
Yes it is true..............
2007-05-02 06:40:55 · answer #1 · answered by NDN 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, 1 is not composite, because it has no
prime divisor less than itself.
Neither is 1 considered prime, for then
the unique factorisation law would fail.
The statement you made about composite
numbers needs an addition:
Not only can composite numbers be factored,
but the factorisation is unique except for the
order of the factors.
For example, you listed 4 = 2*2.
That's the only way to decompose 4 as a
product of primes. If 1 were prime,
we could write
4 = 2*2 = 2*2*1 = 2*2*1*1
and the uniqueness would be destroyed.
2007-05-02 14:12:51 · answer #2 · answered by steiner1745 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't worry about 1. The fundamental theorem of arithmetic states only that every natural number greater than 1 can be written as a unique product of prime factors.
2007-05-02 13:42:47 · answer #3 · answered by Astral Walker 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
1 is neither prime nor composite. It's just 1.
2007-05-02 13:40:49 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
i think that you are right to say that it is the only number that can't be factorized and that it is a composite! so yes you are 100% correct!
2007-05-02 13:41:10 · answer #5 · answered by the jailer777 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋