Cruz and his friend, Penny need to determine what numbers are prime and what numbers are composite for homework assignment. Cruz says that the number 5 is a composite number because it has the factors 2 and 2.5. Explain what is wrong with his reasoning

Composite numbers are th products of integers other than one.

2.5 is not an integer.

Integers are whole numbers.

Cruz is incorrect in his reasoning. The number 5 is actually a prime number, not a composite number.

To understand why Cruz's reasoning is flawed, let's first define what prime and composite numbers are:

1. Prime numbers: Prime numbers are positive integers greater than 1 that have only two distinct factors - 1 and the number itself. This means that prime numbers are not divisible by any other number apart from 1 and itself.

2. Composite numbers: Composite numbers are positive integers greater than 1 that have more than two factors. In other words, composite numbers can be evenly divided by numbers other than 1 and itself.

Now, let's analyze Cruz's reasoning. He claims that the number 5 is composite because it has the factors 2 and 2.5. However, his reasoning is incorrect because prime and composite numbers can only have whole number factors.

In the case of 5, we can check that the only factors it has are 1 and 5. Since there are no other whole number factors, 5 meets the criteria of a prime number.

To determine whether a number is prime or composite, you need to check if it has any factors other than 1 and itself. In the case of 5, it does not have any additional factors, so it is classified as a prime number.