Q: What are the prime factors of the number 3,988?

 A: 2, 997

Why are those the prime factors of the number 3,988?

Prime factors are the prime numbers that can be multipled together to equal the original number. You find the factors by dividing by prime numbers. It is best shown by creating a Factor Tree.

Factor Tree for the number 3,988

3,988
Factor Arrows
21,994
Factor Arrows
2997

The numbers in bold above are the prime factors. If there are multiples, you only count them one time. This leads us to our prime factors of:

2, 997

We can check our work by multiplying all of the prime factors together: 2 x 2 x 997 = 3,988

This can also be written as 22 x 9971 = 3,988

If you would like to know more, or need additional explanation, please review our prime factorization explanation.


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