In other words, a composite number is a number that is not a prime number.įor example, the number 6 is a composite number because it has divisors other than 1 and 6, namely 2 and 3.
While 1 is only divisible by itself and 1, it does not have exactly two divisors, since the definition of a prime number requires that a number have at least two distinct divisors (not counting 1 and itself).Ī composite number is a positive integer that has at least one positive divisor other than 1 and itself. NOTE: 1 is neither a prime nor composite number. However, 4 is a composite number because it is a product (1 x 2 × 2) in which both numbers are smaller than 4.
Numbers 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, and 13 are all prime numbers, but 4, 6, 8, 9, and 10 are not, because they can be divided evenly by numbers other than 1 and themselves.įor example, 5 is prime because the only ways of writing it as a product, 1 × 5 or 5 × 1, involve 5 itself. The prime number starts from 2, 2 is the smallest prime number. This means a prime number is a positive integer greater than 1 that has no positive integer divisors other than 1 and itself. The reading material provided on this page for Prime Numbers is specifically designed for students in grades 5 and 6.Ī prime number is a natural number which is only divisible by 1 and itself.
