Prime Factorization Calculator

About Prime Factors

Any composite number can be decomposed into a product of smaller integers. If these integers are restricted to prime numbers the process is called prime factorization.

Prime factorization is useful for many mathematical tasks, like finding the GCD (greatest common divisor) of a set of numbers.

Prime Factorization Example:

Given the number 84, we can test wich prime numbers divide it.

• 84 is divisible by 2, resulting in 42, thus 2 is a prime factor of 84.
• 42 is also divisible by 2, resulting in 21, thus we get 2 × 2.
• 21 is not divisible by 2, so we try the next prime number: 3. If we divide 21 by 3 we get 7. So far we have the factors 2 × 2 × 3.
• 7 is a prime number, so it is the last found prime factor.
• The final decomposition of 84 into prime numbers is 2 × 2 × 3 × 7

For more info on prime factorization: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integer_factorization