concepts and methodology in mathematics education - Nelson ...

11. Prime Factorisation(Writing a number as a product of its prime factors) by using ONLY Prime Numbers when Dividing (also calledPrime Factorisation)Practical ActivityWe can also find the product of prime numbers of a given number by using a method called PrimeFactorization. Look at the example given below:Example: Write 40 as product of Prime Factors.Use the prime factorization methodRemember: You can use only 2 40prime numbers as factors 2 202 105 5140 = 2 x 2 x 2 x 5= 2 3 x 5Write each of the following numbers as a product of prime factors by using the prime factorization method:56 65 80 72 90TAKE NOTE of Exponential notation when writing a number as the product of its primesInstead of writing 3 × 3 × 3 × 3 = 81, mathematicians have used their own abbreviations and short cuts andwrite 3 4 = 81. Learners often confuse this notation with 3 × 4 = 12.Make sure they understand the difference while using numbers, or they will struggle when moving on to themore abstract variables e.g. a × a × a × a × a = a 5 whereas a + a + a + a + a = 5a.33