Q: What are the prime factors of the number 426,972?

 A: 2, 3, 7, 13, 17, 23

Why are those the prime factors of the number 426,972?

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 426,972

426,972
Factor Arrows
2213,486
Factor Arrows
2106,743
Factor Arrows
335,581
Factor Arrows
75,083
Factor Arrows
13391
Factor Arrows
1723

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, 3, 7, 13, 17, 23

We can check our work by multiplying all of the prime factors together: 2 x 2 x 3 x 7 x 13 x 17 x 23 = 426,972

This can also be written as 22 x 31 x 71 x 131 x 171 x 231 = 426,972

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


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