Prime factorization: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:12, 29 June 2006

For a positive integer $n$ , the prime factorization of $n$ is an expression for $n$ as a product of powers of prime numbers. An important theorem of number theory called the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic tells us that every positive integer has a unique prime factorization, up to changing the order of the terms. The form of a prime factorization is ${p_1}^{e_1}\cdot$ ${p_2}^{e_2}\cdot{p_3}^{e_3}\cdots{p_k}^{e_k} = n$ , where n is any natural number, the $p_{i}$ are prime numbers, and the $e_i$ are their positive integral exponents. Prime factorizations are important in many ways. One instance is to simplify fractions.

Example Problem

The prime factorization of 378 is $2^1\cdot3^3\cdot7^1$ .

Resources

Books

Introduction to Number Theory by Mathew Crawford

Games

Prime Shooter

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 The prime factorization of 378 is <math>2^1\cdot3^3\cdot7^1</math>.
-===See also===
+== Resources ==
+=== Books ===
+* [http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Books/AoPS_B_Item.php?page_id=10 Introduction to Number Theory] by [[Mathew Crawford]]
+=== Games ===
+* [http://www.1729.com/math/integers/PrimeShooter.html Prime Shooter]
+==See also==
 *[[Divisor]]

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