Students learn that the prime factorization of a number is the given number written as the product of its prime factors. For example, to find the prime factorization of 45, use a factor tree to find that 45 is 5 x 9, and 9 is 3 x 3. So the prime factorization of 45 is 5 x 3 x 3, or 5 x 3^2.
