This math skill teaches how to determine if one number is a factor of another using prime factorization. It involves expressing each number's prime factors in exponent form and ensuring that all prime factors of the potential factor are present in the other number.
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Determining whether one number is a factor of another
Test your understanding of is number a factor of another by practicing it! Work through the below exercises to use it in practice.
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Is 8 a factor of 60. Let's use prime factorization to find out.
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First let's find the prime factors of each number. For example, 8 is 2 times 2 times 2.
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If we express them in exponent form it will be a bit easier to see what is happening. So 2 times 2 times 2 can be written as 2 to the power of 3
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For a number to be a factor of another number every one of its prime factors must be present in the other number. For 8, we only have 2s, but we need 3 of them.
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60 only has 2 2s as prime factors, so 8 is not a factor of 60