Is 954 a Prime Number?

There are two types of numbers —

prime numbers and composite numbers depending on the number of factors.

A prime number is a natural number 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 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:

• 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, which is 1.
   
• As 954 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 954 has more than two factors, it is not a prime number. A few methods are used to distinguish between prime and composite numbers:

• 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.

• If there is a total count of only 2 divisors, then the number would be prime.
   
• If the count is more than 2, then the number is composite.

Let’s check whether 954 is prime or composite.

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

Step 2: Divide 954 by 2. It is divisible by 2, so 2 is a factor of 954. -

Step 3: Divide 954 by 3. It is divisible by 3, so 3 is a factor of 954. -

Step 4: You can simplify checking divisors up to 954 by finding the root value. We then need to only check divisors up to the root value.

Step 5: When we divide 954 by 2, 3, 6, and so on, it is divisible by these numbers.

Since 954 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 4. Four is an even number, which means that 954 is divisible by 2. 

Divisibility by 3: The sum of the digits in the number 954 is 18. Since 18 is divisible by 3, 954 is also divisible by 3. 

Divisibility by 5: The unit’s place digit is 4. Therefore, 954 is not divisible by 5.

Divisibility by 7: To check divisibility by 7, take 954: double the last digit (4 × 2 = 8) and subtract it from the rest of the number (95 - 8 = 87). Since 87 is divisible by 7, 954 is also divisible by 7. 

Divisibility by 11: In 954, the sum of the digits in odd positions is 9 + 4 = 13, and the sum of the digits in even positions is 5. The difference is 13 - 5 = 8, which is not divisible by 11, so 954 is not divisible by 11.

Since 954 is divisible by more than two numbers, 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 these steps: -

Step 1: Write 1 to 1000 in rows and 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 1000. 954 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 and then multiplying those factors to obtain the original number.

Step 1: We can write 954 as 2 × 477.

Step 2: In 2 × 477, 477 is a composite number. Further, break 477 into 3 × 159.

Step 3: Break 159 into 3 × 53. 

Step 4: Now we get the product consisting of only prime numbers. Hence, the prime factorization of 954 is 2 × 3 × 3 × 53.

• 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 Factorization: The process of breaking down a composite number into its prime factors.
   
• Divisibility Rules: Set of rules used to determine if one number is divisible by another without performing division.
   
• Sieve of Eratosthenes: An ancient algorithm used to find all prime numbers up to a specified integer by systematically marking the multiples of each prime.
   
• Co-prime numbers: Two numbers that have only one common factor, which is 1, are called co-prime numbers.