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Prime factorization

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by metallicafan » Sat Oct 20, 2012 11:22 am
I have a conceptual question:

Does each positive integer have a unique combination of prime factors when we make its prime factorization?
In other words, when we calculate the prime factorization of a number, will we get always the same answer (combination)?, or there could be different sets of prime numbers (including repetitions) whose product is the same number?

For example, 100 = 2^2*5^2 , in this case is the only set of prime factors whose product is 100. However, I wonder whether in other numbers the opposite is possible.

Please, provide a detailed explanation.
Thanks!
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sat Oct 20, 2012 11:33 am
Great question!
The answer is yes; for each number, there will be one unique prime factorization of that number.
So, for example, if K = (a)(b)(c)...etc, where a, b, c etc are primes, then there can be no other prime factorization of K

More here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamenta ... arithmetic

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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