The prime factorization of 32 is 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2, or in exponential form, 25.
To break it down, prime factorization involves expressing a number as the product of its prime factors. A prime number is a natural number greater than 1 that cannot be formed by multiplying two smaller natural numbers. In the case of 32, we see that it is an even number, making 2 the smallest prime factor. We can divide 32 by 2 repeatedly until we reach 1:
- 32 ÷ 2 = 16
- 16 ÷ 2 = 8
- 8 ÷ 2 = 4
- 4 ÷ 2 = 2
- 2 ÷ 2 = 1
By counting how many times we divided by 2, we find that 32 consists of five 2’s multiplied together, confirming that the prime factorization of 32 is 25.