Mrs. Dewey showed another way to write Nicholas's solution. She used a factor tree. The picture shows Mrs. Dewey's factor tree.
She factored 24 into 3 8. She circled the 3 because it cannot be factored anymore (it is prime). She factored 8 into 4 2 and circled the 2 because it is prime. She factored 4 into 2 2 and circled the 2s. She multiplied the circled numbers and got the same answer as Nicholas: 24 = 3 2 2 2.
Nila decided to use a factor tree to show her solution. She factored 24 into 6 4. She decided not to write the multiplication signs in her factor tree. That was O.K.
She factored 6 into 2 3 and 4 into 2 2. She circled the 2s and the 3 because they are prime. They cannot be factored anymore.
She multiplied the prime numbers she circled and got:
24 = 2 3 2 2.
Nila's answer was the same as Nicholas's, even though her factor tree was different.
- John started the following factor tree for 24. Continue building his tree until all the numbers are prime. What factorization of 24 does your tree give you?
- Complete the following factor trees for 36. Write 36 as a product of its prime factors.
