In 1998, Ask Ars was an early feature of the newly launched Ars Technica. Now, as then, it's all about your questions and our community's answers. We occasionally dig into our question bag, provide ...

A prime number is a natural number greater than 1 that has exactly two distinct factors, 1 and the number itself. So, if p is a prime number then its only factors will be 1 and p itself. 4: It can be ...

Other than for their use in cryptography, prime numbers might not be on your list of favorite topics, but prime numbers have some very interesting qualities. It’s probably been a while since you ...

A new proof has debunked a conspiracy that mathematicians feared might haunt the number line. In doing so, it has given them another set of tools for understanding arithmetic’s fundamental building ...

A prime number is a whole number, greater than 1, that only has two factors. A factor is a number that divides another number evenly, with no remainder or decimal. The factors of a prime number are ...

The first factor pair is always 1 and the number itself. Consider whether the number is divisible, in turn, by 2, 3, 4, etc. Divide to find the other factor of the pair. All the factors are found when ...