Prime Factorization can be FUN!

By reading the term "Prime Factorization," it does not sound like it is something that is easy to understand, but when you break it down it is actually quite fun! The definition of prime factorization is to write a number as its unique product of primes. This may sound confusing to a young child, so we can teach them how to get the factors of a number through methods. There are two simple methods to find the factors of a number using prime factorization: Factor Trees and Short Division. My favorite method to use is the Factor Tree. I find it the easiest method, peronally, and here is how it works...

The number used in the factor tree is 18. The goal is to find the factors (which wil all be prime numbers) of 18. First, we find two numbers that will multiply to get 18 such as 6*3. 3 is already a prime number, so we just drag 3 down as shown. 6, on the other hand, has multiples (2 and 3), so we draw a branch down from 6 and write 2 and 3. In conclusion our picture turns out looking somewhat like a tree and we have our factors written at the bottom of it. *Note: Never use the top number and 1.