Question

Write first 5 prime numbers.

Answer 1

Hint: Natural numbers are divided into two parts – Prime numbers and Composite numbers. A number that is divisible only by itself and one is called a prime number. A prime number is always greater than one and it can also be defined as a number that can’t be expressed as a product of two smaller natural numbers. The natural numbers greater than one that are not prime numbers are called composite numbers.

Complete step-by-step answer:
In the question, we have to find the first 5 prime numbers.
From the definition of prime numbers, we see that the prime numbers are greater than one.
On the number line, two comes just after one and is thus divisible by only one and itself, so 2 is a prime number.
Three comes just after two on the number line and is divisible only by one and itself, and on dividing 3 by 2 we don’t get a whole number. So, 3 is a prime number.
On dividing 5 by 2, we don’t get a whole number as the answer, five is divisible only by one and itself, so 5 is a prime number.
On dividing 7 by any smaller number, we don’t get a whole number, so it is a prime number.
11 is not perfectly divisible by any smaller number, so 11 is a prime number.
The numbers 4, 6, 8, 9 and 10 can be expressed as the product of two smaller natural numbers so they are not prime numbers.
Hence, the first 5 prime numbers are 2, 3, 5, 7 and 11.
So, the correct answer is “2, 3, 5, 7 and 11”.

Note: To prove that a number is a prime number, we try dividing it by smaller natural numbers, if it is completely divisible that is it gives a whole number as the answer, the given number is not a prime number. On dividing 4 by 2, we get 2 as the answer that is a whole number, so 4 is not a prime number. 6 is divisible by both 2 and 3 and gives a whole number as the answer in both the cases, so 6 is not a prime number. 8 is perfectly divisible by 2 and 4, 9 is perfectly divisible by 3, and 10 is perfectly divisible by 2 and 5 so these three numbers are not prime numbers.