What is the prime factorization of 60 using exponents?

To find the prime factorization of 60, we first need to break it down into its prime factors.

We start by dividing 60 by the smallest prime number, which is 2:

• 60 ÷ 2 = 30

Next, we continue with the result:

• 30 ÷ 2 = 15

Since 15 is not divisible by 2, we move to the next prime number, which is 3:

• 15 ÷ 3 = 5

Finally, we are left with 5, which is a prime number itself.

Now, we combine all the prime factors we have found:

• 60 = 2 × 2 × 3 × 5

To express this using exponents, we can see that 2 appears twice in our factorization. Therefore, we can write:

• 60 = 2² × 3¹ × 5¹

So the prime factorization of 60 using exponents is:

• 2² × 3¹ × 5¹