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Can a square number be a prime?

Updated: 8/20/2019
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Wiki User

9y ago

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No, a Prime number can't be a square number.

The definition of primes says that a prime number can only have 1 and itself as positive factors. For example, 13 only has two factors - 1 and 13.

A square number is a number multiplied by itself, so it has an additional factor. For example, 9 has three factors - 1, 3, and 9.

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8y ago
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14y ago

A square number is the result of multiplying two natural numbers together (a natural number is a positive number that does not have any fractional portions. For example, 1, 2, 3, and 4 are natural numbers. 1.21, 2.36, 3.92 are not natural numbers. Think of it like this, 'a natural number is a number that would be in nature. If you look in a park and count the number of trees, you will always end with a natural number. You cannot grow 1 1/2 trees, that would not be natural. 1 tree may split off and have two trunks, but it is still only 1 tree.) So a square number list is as follows: 1x1=1

2x2=4

3x3=9

4x4=16

5x5=25 If you consider 1 a prime number (which I do not, but a lot of people do), than that would be the only square number that could be prime. But since the number 1 is not really a prime number, your answer is no. A square number can never be a prime number.

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9y ago

No.

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