Find the prime factorization of 81. Show all your work and use exponents to write your prime factorization if applicable. (2 points)
To find the prime factorization of 81, we need to divide it by prime numbers until we can't divide anymore.
81 is divisible by 3, so we divide it by 3:
81 ÷ 3 = 27
27 is divisible by 3, so we divide it by 3 again:
27 ÷ 3 = 9
9 is divisible by 3, so we divide it by 3 once more:
9 ÷ 3 = 3
Hence, the prime factorization of 81 is 3^4, since it can be written as the product of primes raised to their appropriate exponents.