Prime Factorization and the Least Common Multiple

Factor Tree

A factor tree is a diagram for organizing factors and prime factors.

Divisibility Rules

A list of rules which help you to determine if a number is evenly divisible by another number.

Composite

A number that has more than two factors.

Prime

A prime number is a number that has exactly two factors, one and itself.

Factors

Factors are numbers or values multiplied to equal a product.

Find the Prime Factorization of a Composite Number Using the tree Method.

Find any factor pair of the given number, and use these numbers to create two branches. If a factor is prime, that branch is complete. Circle the prime. If a factor is not prime, write it as the product of a factor pair and continue the process. Write the composite number as the product of all the circled primes.

prime factorization

The prime factorization of a number is the product of prime numbers that equals the number.

least common multiple

The smallest number that is a multiple of two numbers is called the least common multiple (LCM).