Q: What are the prime factors of the number 720,000?

 A: 2, 3, 5

Why are those the prime factors of the number 720,000?

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 720,000

720,000
Factor Arrows
2360,000
Factor Arrows
2180,000
Factor Arrows
290,000
Factor Arrows
245,000
Factor Arrows
222,500
Factor Arrows
211,250
Factor Arrows
25,625
Factor Arrows
31,875
Factor Arrows
3625
Factor Arrows
5125
Factor Arrows
525
Factor Arrows
55

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, 5

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 2 x 3 x 3 x 5 x 5 x 5 x 5 = 720,000

This can also be written as 27 x 32 x 54 = 720,000

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


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