When asked to write the prime factorization of the number 27 a student wrote 9. 3. Explain the error and write the correct answer

The correct prime factorization of 27 is 3 x 3 x 3

Solution:

Given that,

When asked to write the prime factorization of the number 27 a student wrote 9. 3

So the student has written,

prime factorization of 27 = 9. 3

This is wrong

Let us first understand about prime factorization

Prime factorization of a number is any of the prime numbers that can be multiplied to give the original number

A prime number is a whole number greater than 1 whose only factors are 1 and itself.

The first few prime numbers are 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23 and 29

Clearly from above list we can see that 9 is not a prime number

So the correct prime factorization of 27 is:

prime factorization of 27 = 3 x 3 x 3

Here "3" is a prime number