What are Prime Numbers?
Prime numbers are an unusual set of infinite numbers, all of them whole (and not fractions or decimal), and all of them greater than one. When theories about prime numbers were first espoused, the number one was considered prime. However, in the modern sense, one can never be prime because it has only one divisor or factor, the number one. In today’s definition a prime number has exactly two divisors, the number one and the number itself. The ancient Greeks created theories and development of the first sets of prime numbers, though there may have some Egyptian study into this matter too. What’s interesting is that the topic of primes wasn’t much touched or studied after the Ancient Greeks until well after the medieval period. Then, in the mid 17th century, mathematicians began to study primes with much greater focus, and this study continues today, with many methods evolved to find new primes. In addition to finding prime numbers, mathematicians know that there are an infinite number,
A Prime Number is any numbers that can not be divided by any number other than itself and the number one. For example, 11 is a prime number because there are no other numbers other than 1 and 11 that will divide 11 Still dont get it? Take the number 12, 12 can be divided by 1 and 12 but it so can be divided the numbers 2, 6, 3 or 4, therefore 12 is not a Prime Number but 11 is! See an example of working with prime numbers!
