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Find any factor - like 2, then divide by 2, to get the other factor: 2 x 248. Continue finding more factors for the number to the right, until you divided the number into prime factors.
There isn't any, and it is quite simple to prove that. Suppose there is a number with the most factors and suppose that number is X. Now consider Y = 2*X. Y has all the factors of X and it has another factor, which is 2. So Y has more factors than X. This contradicts the statement that X has the most factors. Therefore, there is no number with the most factors.
All composite numbers have more than two factors. The smallest such number is 4, which is equal to 2 x 2. 4 has three factors: 1, 2, and 4.
14 28 / \ / \ 7 2 2 14 / \ 2 7 Factors of 14: 7,2 Factors of 28: 2, 2, 7 Factors are prime numbers that are all the product of the original number. 7*2 is 14 and 2*2*7 is 28
A whole number with more than 2 factors is a composite number.