Is 60 a prime number?
60 is not a prime number. Here is a way to check it.
The answer
No. 60 is not a prime number: 2 × 30 = 60.
How to see that 60 is not prime
60 is even, and every even number can be divided by 2, so 2 is a factor as well as 1 and 60.
60 has 12 factors (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30 and 60), which make 6 factor pairs.
Split 60 into prime factors
Split off the smallest prime each time, and keep going until every part is prime:
- 60 = 2 × 30
- 60 = 2 × 2 × 15
- 60 = 2 × 2 × 3 × 5
With repeated primes written as powers, that is 2² × 3 × 5. A small raised number tells you how many times to use that factor: for example, 2³ means 2 × 2 × 2.
60 in the times tables
60 turns up in 4 different times tables, the 5, 6, 10 and 12: 5 × 12, 6 × 10, 10 × 6 and 12 × 5.
Quick checks that catch 60
- The last digit, 0, is even, so 2 goes in.
- The digits add up to 6, which is in the 3 times table, so 3 goes in.
- Half of it is 30, which is still even, so 4 goes in.
- It ends in 0, so 5 goes in.
- It is even and passes the check for 3 as well, so 6 goes in.
- It ends in 0, so 10 goes in.
60 at a glance
Optional extra number facts:
- In words
- sixty
- In Roman numerals
- LX
- Odd or even
- Even: it ends in 0
- Multiple of 10
- 6 tens
- Its factors add up to
- 168, or 108 without 60 itself. 60 is abundant: Abundant means this sum is greater than the number.
The numbers either side of 60
- 59 is prime: 2, 3, 5 and 7 do not go into it, and 11 × 11 is already past 59. Check 59 in full
- 61 is prime: 2, 3, 5 and 7 do not go into it, and 11 × 11 is already past 61. Check 61 in full
Related pages
More numbers
Questions parents ask
Which prime numbers are either side of 60?
59 below it and 61 above it, a gap of 2.
What is 60 squared?
60 × 60 = 3600.
What is the smallest number with as many factors as 60?
60 itself. No smaller number has 12 factors.
Continue your number practice
Explore the diagnostic for another set of practice questions.