Is 202 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, which is 1.
   
• As 202 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 202 has more than two factors, it is not a prime number. A few methods can be 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 202 is prime or composite.

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

Step 2: Divide 202 by 2. It is divisible by 2, so 2 is a factor of 202.

Step 3: Divide 202 by 3. It is not divisible by 3, so 3 is not a factor of 202.

Step 4: You can simplify checking divisors up to 202 by finding the root value. We then need to only check divisors up to the root value.

Since 202 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 2. Two is an even number, which means that 202 is divisible by 2.

Divisibility by 3: The sum of the digits in the number 202 is 4. Since 4 is not divisible by 3, 202 is also not divisible by 3.

Divisibility by 5: The unit’s place digit is 2. Therefore, 202 is not divisible by 5.

Divisibility by 7: Use the rule for 7 to check. 202 is not divisible by 7.

Divisibility by 11: In 202, the sum of the digits in odd positions is 4, and the sum of the digits in even positions is 0. This would mean that 202 is not divisible by 11.

Since 202 is divisible 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 numbers in a suitable range.

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.

202 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 202 as 2 × 101.

Step 2: In 2 × 101, 101 is a prime number.

This shows that 202 can be expressed as a product of the prime numbers 2 and 101, which confirms it is not a prime number itself.

• 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: Natural numbers greater than 1 that have no divisors other than 1 and itself.
   
• Divisibility rules: A set of rules that help determine if one number is divisible by another without performing division.
   
• Prime factorization: Expressing a composite number as a product of its prime factors.
   
• Co-prime numbers: Two numbers that have only 1 as a common factor.