A basic understanding of TI-82 is required. Students should find the proper factors for numbers one through fifty using either the divisibility laws or TI-82. Students should determine the sum of the proper factors for each number. The first perfect number is 6 and the second is 28. These are the only two perfect numbers between one and fifty.
Perfect numbers are few and far between.
The next few steps provide a quick method to determine a perfect number without having to find the sum of the factors. Students should use the TI-82 calculator when following these steps. For example, the factors for 16 are 1,2,4,8,16. The product will be a perfect number. For example, the sum of 16 is 31, a prime number.