All composite numbers can be expressed as unique products of prime numbers. This is accomplished by dividing the original number and its factors by prime numbers until all the factors are prime. A factor tree can help you visualize this.
Example: 210
210 Divide by two.
105,2 Divide by three.
35,3,2 Divide by five.
7,5,3,2 Stop. All the factors are prime.
2 x 3 x 5 x 7 = 210
That's the prime factorization of 210.
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1 is not a compositenumber, it is an odd number
38 is a composite number. A prime number has only 2 factors which are 1 and itself. Composite numbers are everything else except 1 and 0. 1 and 0 are neither prime, nor composite.
Start looking for factors; you already know that 1 is a factor, and that the number itself is a second factor (unless the number is 1). As soon as you find a factor that is neither 1 nor the number itself, the number is composite. If you find exactly two factors, the number is prime. If the number has only one factor, the number is 1, which is neither prime nor composite.
0 has every number as a factor. A prime number has only 2 factors which are 1 and itself. Composite numbers are everything else except 1 and 0. 1 and 0 are neither prime, nor composite.
No. 36 is composite and so it cannot be a prime factor.