Is 52 a prime number?
52 is not a prime number. Here is a way to check it.
The answer
No. 52 is not a prime number: 2 × 26 = 52.
How to see that 52 is not prime
52 is even, and every even number can be divided by 2, so 2 is a factor as well as 1 and 52.
52 has 6 factors (1, 2, 4, 13, 26 and 52), which make 3 factor pairs.
Split 52 into prime factors
Split off the smallest prime each time, and keep going until every part is prime:
- 52 = 2 × 26
- 52 = 2 × 2 × 13
With repeated primes written as powers, that is 2² × 13. A small raised number tells you how many times to use that factor: for example, 2³ means 2 × 2 × 2.
52 in the times tables
No fact from the 2 to 12 times tables, up to × 12, makes 52. Its smallest pair, 2 × 26, needs the 26 times table, which goes past 12.
Quick checks that catch 52
- The last digit, 2, is even, so 2 goes in.
- Half of it is 26, which is still even, so 4 goes in.
52 at a glance
Optional extra number facts:
- In words
- fifty-two
- In Roman numerals
- LII
- Odd or even
- Even: it ends in 2
- Its factors add up to
- 98, or 46 without 52 itself. 52 is deficient: Deficient means this sum is less than the number.
The numbers either side of 52
- 51 is not prime. Its digits add up to 5 + 1 = 6, which is a multiple of 3. That means 51 is a multiple of 3 too, so 3 is a factor. Check 51 in full
- 53 is prime: 2, 3, 5 and 7 do not go into it, and 11 × 11 is already past 53. Check 53 in full
Turn the digits round
52 backwards is 25. 25 is not prime. 25 ends in 5, and every number ending in 5 or 0 is in the 5 times table, so 5 is a factor. Check 25 in full
Related pages
More numbers
Questions parents ask
Which prime numbers are either side of 52?
47 below it and 53 above it, a gap of 6.
What is 52 squared?
52 × 52 = 2704.
What is the smallest number with as many factors as 52?
12. It has 6 factors, the same as 52.
Continue your number practice
Explore the diagnostic for another set of practice questions.