Question

Two students determine the prime factorization of 72. Which student is correct? Explain the error.

a. Student A: (72 = 9 × 8 = 9 × 4 × 2 = 9 × 2 × 2 × 2), Correct
b. Student B: (72 = 9 × 8 = 9 × 4 × 2 = 3 × 3 × 2 × 2 × 2), Incorrect
c. Both students are correct.
d. Both students are incorrect.

Answer 1

Student B is incorrect because their prime factorization of 72 is not accurate.

Step-by-step explanation:

Student B is incorrect because their prime factorization of 72 is not accurate. They wrote 72 as the product of 9, 4, 2, 2, and 2, but the correct prime factorization of 72 is 2 × 2 × 2 × 3 × 3. Student A, on the other hand, correctly wrote the prime factorization of 72 as 2 × 2 × 2 × 3 × 3, which is the correct representation of the prime factors of 72.