The number 48 consists of how many distinct prime factors?
To find out the number of distinct prime factors of a given number, we need to prime factorize the number and then count the unique prime factors.
Let's find the prime factorization of 48:
Step 1: Divide the number by the smallest prime number, which is 2:
48 ÷ 2 = 24
Step 2: Divide the quotient obtained (24) by the smallest prime number again:
24 ÷ 2 = 12
Step 3: Continue dividing by 2 until we can't anymore:
12 ÷ 2 = 6
6 ÷ 2 = 3
Now, 3 is a prime number, so we cannot divide it any further.
So the prime factorization of 48 is: 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 3.
To determine the number of distinct prime factors, we just count the unique prime numbers: 2, 3.
Therefore, the number 48 consists of two distinct prime factors.
well, 48 = 16*3
see where that takes you.