Is 1298 a Prime Number?

There are two types of numbers, mostly —

Prime numbers and composite numbers, depending on the number of factors.

A prime number is a natural number that is divisible only by 1 and itself.

For example, 3 is a prime number because it is divisible by 1 and itself.

A composite number is a positive number that is divisible by more than two numbers.

For example, 6 is divisible by 1, 2, 3, and 6, making it a composite number.

Prime numbers follow a few properties like:

• Prime numbers are positive numbers always greater than 1.
   
• 2 is the only even prime number.
   
• They have only two factors: 1 and the number itself.
   
• Any two distinct prime numbers are co-prime numbers because they have only one common factor that is 1.

As 1298 has more than two factors, it is not a prime number.

The characteristic of a prime number is that it has only two divisors: 1 and itself. Since 1298 has more than two factors, it is not a prime number. Few methods are used to distinguish between prime and composite numbers.

A few methods are:

• Counting Divisors Method
   
• Divisibility Test
   
• Prime Number Chart
   
• Prime Factorization

The method in which we count the number of divisors to categorize the numbers as prime or composite is called the counting divisors method. Based on the count of the divisors, we categorize prime and composite numbers.

Let’s check whether 1298 is prime or composite.

Step 1: All numbers are divisible by 1 and itself.

Step 2: Divide 1298 by 2. It is divisible by 2, so 2 is a factor of 1298.

Step 3: Divide 1298 by 3. It is not divisible by 3, so 3 is not a factor of 1298.

Step 4: You can simplify checking divisors up to 1298 by finding the square root value. We then need to only check divisors up to the square root value.

Step 5: When we divide 1298 by 2, 649, and 5, it is divisible by 2.

Since 1298 has more than 2 divisors, it is a composite number.

We use a set of rules to check whether a number is divisible by another number completely or not. It is called the Divisibility Test Method.

Divisibility by 2: The number in the ones' place value is 8. Since 8 is an even number, 1298 is divisible by 2.

Divisibility by 3: The sum of the digits in the number 1298 is 20. Since 20 is not divisible by 3, 1298 is also not divisible by 3.

Divisibility by 5: The unit’s place digit is 8. Therefore, 1298 is not divisible by 5.

Divisibility by 7: To check divisibility by 7, double the last digit (8 × 2 = 16). Subtract it from the rest of the number (129 - 16 = 113). Since 113 is not divisible by 7, 1298 is also not divisible by 7.

Divisibility by 11: In 1298, the sum of the digits in odd positions is 10, and the sum of the digits in even positions is 11. The difference is 1, which is not divisible by 11.

Since 1298 is divisible only by 2, it has more than two factors. Therefore, it is a composite number.

The prime number chart is a tool created by using a method called “The Sieve of Eratosthenes.” In this method, we follow the following steps.

Step 1: Write 1 to 100 in 10 rows and 10 columns.

Step 2: Leave 1 without coloring or crossing, as it is neither prime nor composite.

Step 3: Mark 2 because it is a prime number and cross out all the multiples of 2.

Step 4: Mark 3 because it is a prime number and cross out all the multiples of 3.

Step 5: Repeat this process until you reach the table consisting of marked and crossed boxes, except 1. Through this process, we will have a list of prime numbers from 1 to 100.

The list is 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89, and 97.

1298 is not present in the list of prime numbers, so it is a composite number.

Prime factorization is a process of breaking down a number into prime factors. Then multiply those factors to obtain the original number.

Step 1: We can write 1298 as 2 × 649.

Step 2: In 2 × 649, 649 is a composite number. Further, break 649 into its prime factors, which are 11 × 59.

Step 3: Now we get the product consisting of only prime numbers.

Hence, the prime factorization of 1298 is 2 × 11 × 59.

• Composite numbers: Natural numbers greater than 1 that are divisible by more than 2 numbers are called composite numbers. For example, 12 is a composite number because 12 is divisible by 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 12.

• Prime numbers: Numbers greater than 1 that are divisible only by 1 and themselves. For example, 5 is a prime number because it is divisible only by 1 and 5.

• Divisibility rules: Set of rules used to determine if one number is divisible by another without performing division.

• Prime factorization: The process of breaking down a number into its prime factors. For example, the prime factorization of 18 is 2 × 3 × 3.

• Co-prime numbers: Two numbers that have only 1 as their common factor. For example, 8 and 15 are co-prime because they have no other common factors besides 1.