Solved example of prime factor decomposition
To find the prime factors of $28$, the first step is to divide it with it's smallest prime factor. The smallest prime factor of $28$ is the smallest prime which can divide it without leaving any remainder. Trying with the first few primes (2, 3, 5...), we find out that the smallest prime of $28$ is $2$. $28\div2=14$. Then we need to repeatedly divide the quotient by $2$ until we get a number that is no more divisible by $2$. Next, we look for the next smallest prime number which can divide it, until we reach $1$.
Dividing $14$ by the prime factor $2$ (again) gives us
Dividing $7$ by the prime factor $7$ gives us $1$. We do not need to proceed further as we have obtained $1$ as our result
Then, the prime factors of $28$ are
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