Start with a prime number such as 2 or 3 or 5 and work it out. Check to see if 2 will go into 87 evenly, if not try 3. If 3 will not go into 87 evenly then try 5. If 5 will not go into 87 evenly tr 7 and continue this till you get a prime number that will and then continue to work it out.. If you cannot find a prime number that will go into 87 evenly by the time you reach 87, then the number is prime. So the prime factorization is 1, 87 if the number is prime but 87 is not prime because it is divisible by 3
3 / 87 = 29
29 is a prime number so the prime factorization is as follows.
1, 3, 29
We normally just leave off the 1 out and just say 3 , 29
