Is 74 a prime number?
74 is not a prime number. Here is a way to check it.
The answer
No. 74 is not a prime number: 2 × 37 = 74.
How to see that 74 is not prime
74 is even, and every even number can be divided by 2, so 2 is a factor as well as 1 and 74.
74 has four factors: 1 and 74, plus one pair in between, 2 and 37.
Split 74 into prime factors
74 splits straight into two primes, 2 × 37, so its factor tree has only one branch.
74 in the times tables
No fact from the 2 to 12 times tables, up to × 12, makes 74. Its smallest pair, 2 × 37, needs the 37 times table, which goes past 12.
Quick checks that catch 74
- The last digit, 4, is even, so 2 goes in.
74 at a glance
Optional extra number facts:
- In words
- seventy-four
- In Roman numerals
- LXXIV
- Odd or even
- Even: it ends in 4
- Its factors add up to
- 114, or 40 without 74 itself. 74 is deficient: Deficient means this sum is less than the number.
The numbers either side of 74
- 73 is prime: 2, 3, 5 and 7 do not go into it, and 11 × 11 is already past 73. Check 73 in full
- 75 is not prime. Its digits add up to 7 + 5 = 12, which is a multiple of 3. That means 75 is a multiple of 3 too, so 3 is a factor. Check 75 in full
Turn the digits round
74 backwards is 47. 47 is prime: 2, 3 and 5 do not go into it, and 7 × 7 is already past 47. Check 47 in full
Related pages
More numbers
Questions parents ask
Which prime numbers are either side of 74?
73 below it and 79 above it, a gap of 6.
What is 74 squared?
74 × 74 = 5476.
What is the smallest number with as many factors as 74?
6. It has 4 factors, the same as 74.
Continue your number practice
Explore the diagnostic for another set of practice questions.