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How did the cicadas decide that they would wait a prime number of year before emerging?
To think of cicadas as "deciding" something is anthropomorphizing; that is, using words that describe human attributions with things that don't really think as humans do. What probably happened is that those cicadas which happened to have a prime number cycle tended to avoid having predators match their periodic appearances and so increased relative to those that didn't, and as a consequence, got eaten. This is Natural Selection. Incidently, only Periodic cicadas have prime number cycles (17 or 13 years); there are also Annual cicadas which as their name implies, appear every year.
What are not examples of prime numbers?
Numbers that have more than two factors are not prime numbers because prime numbers have only two factors.
Do you really know all the prime numbers?
The way to know the Prime Numbers is to find out if they can only Multiplied Once ,The way to know Composite Numbers is to find out if they can be Multiplied Twice
Why do cicadas wait a prime number of years before coming out?
Cicadas likely evolved to have prime-numbered life cycles as a strategy to avoid synchronization with other insect species or predators. By having longer life cycles that are not easily divisible by other common periods, cicadas can reduce competition and increase their chances of survival and reproduction. This unique adaptation may have provided an evolutionary advantage, leading to the prevalence of prime-numbered life cycles among cicadas.
How can you know if its a prime number?
Prime numbers only have two factors.
