What is the term for natural numbers greater than 1 that have exactly two distinct positive divisors, 1 and themselves?

What is the term for natural numbers greater than 1 that have exactly two distinct positive divisors, 1 and themselves?

• A. Composite numbers
• B. Natural numbers
• C. Even numbers
• D. Prime numbers

Answer: (C)

Primes are natural numbers greater than 1 that have exactly two distinct positive divisors: 1 and the number itself. This means no other positive integers divide them evenly. Because of that, primes can’t be broken into smaller natural factors, which is why they’re the building blocks of all integers. For example, 2, 3, 5, and 7 are prime. Even numbers can be divisible by 2, but not all of them are prime—every even number greater than 2 has at least three divisors (1, 2, and itself), so it’s composite. The term described is prime numbers.

Primes are natural numbers greater than 1 that have exactly two distinct positive divisors: 1 and the number itself. This means no other positive integers divide them evenly. Because of that, primes can’t be broken into smaller natural factors, which is why they’re the building blocks of all integers. For example, 2, 3, 5, and 7 are prime. Even numbers can be divisible by 2, but not all of them are prime—every even number greater than 2 has at least three divisors (1, 2, and itself), so it’s composite. The term described is prime numbers.