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One is neither prime nor composite. It is known as the identity element, the unit element and unity. A Prime number has exactly two factors, so 1 cannot be prime because it has only one factor - itself. A composite number has more than two factors, so it cannot be composite.

Zero could have either no factors at all, or infinitely many factors all paired with zero. Because of this ambiguity, it is not considered either prime or composite.

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7y ago
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8y ago

It is because the characteristics are not defined for these numbers.

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Q: Why are 0 and 1 neither prime nor composite?
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