| Number Magic |
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| Question : |
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How would you describe Prime Numbers and Composite Numbers ? |
Answer : |
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A prime number is a whole number that only has two factors which are itself and one.
A composite number has factors in addition to one and itself.
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An integer can be called a prime number when it has no integral factors except unity and itself, such as 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, or
13.
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Numbers which have factors such as 9, 15, 25, 32 are composite numbers. |
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About twenty-two centuries ago, a Greek
geographer-astronomer named Erasosthenes used a sieve for sifting the composite numbers out of the natural numbers. And the
remaining are prime numbers.
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Prime numbers and their properties were first studied by the ancient Greek mathematicians.
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The numbers 0 and 1 are neither prime nor composite.
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