Prime, Composite, and Square Numbers Prime, Composite, and Square Numbers Students often work on concepts like prime, composite , and square numbers by manipulating symbols only. Prime numbers are only divisible by themselves and one. This lesson presents these concepts through the use of arrays, which are a good way for students to visualize factors in a number as well as understand the properties of prime, composite , and squared numbers. The concept of an array is explained in the classroom discussion section below.
Colored arrays are a quick way for students to examine patterns.
Students can also gain computer skills by formatting tables and dragging within them. One limitation of this exercise is that it does not show students all of the factors in some numbers. This cannot be shown visually using arrays the way they are described in this lesson. See Spreadsheet Basics section in table of contents to set up a spreadsheet as electronic graph paper. Math Objective Learn to visualize the prime numbers and the factors for composite numbers and square numbers.