75 is a composite number. A composite number is defined as a positive integer that has at least one positive divisor other than one or itself.
To understand why 75 is composite, we can look at its factors. The number 75 can be divided evenly by 1, 3, 5, 15, 25, and 75. In this case, it has multiple factors, which include numbers besides 1 and 75 itself. Specifically, we can express 75 as:
- 75 = 3 × 25
- 75 = 5 × 15
Since it has factors other than 1 and 75, it confirms that 75 is not a prime number. In fact, the only positive factors of a prime number are 1 and itself. Thus, since 75 can be divided evenly by other integers, it is classified as a composite number.