Q: What are the prime factors of the number 638,656?

 A: 2, 17, 587

Why are those the prime factors of the number 638,656?

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 638,656

638,656
Factor Arrows
2319,328
Factor Arrows
2159,664
Factor Arrows
279,832
Factor Arrows
239,916
Factor Arrows
219,958
Factor Arrows
29,979
Factor Arrows
17587

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, 17, 587

We can check our work by multiplying all of the prime factors together: 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 17 x 587 = 638,656

This can also be written as 26 x 171 x 5871 = 638,656

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


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