Write 36 as a product of its prime factors giving the answer in index form.
A prime number is a number only divisible by itself and 1. To write 36 as a product of its prime factors we use a factor tree. The key thing to remember is to always circle the prime numbers. So we start with writing 36 at the top of the page. 36 is divisible by 18 and 2 so draw 2 lines from the 36 with 18 and 2 at the end of the line. 2 is prime so we circle it. 18 is divisible by 9 and 2 so we draw 2 lines from the 18 with 9 and 2 at the end. Circle the 2 as it is prime. 9 is divisible by 3 and 3 so draw 2 lines with 3 at the end of each line and circle both of them.Now the factor tree is complete, we have to write out the answer. List the circled prime numbers from smallest to largest and multiply them together - 2x2x3x3. Notice that this equation is equal to 36. To answer the second part of the question - 'giving the answer in index form' we have to rewrite our answer. An index is a number above and to the right of a base number and indicates how many times a number is multiplied by itself. Therefore 2x2 in index form is 22 and 3x3 is 32 so the final answer is 36=22x32
