Is 88 a prime number?
88 is not a prime number. Here is the quickest way to see it.
The answer
No. 88 is not a prime number: 2 × 44 = 88.
How to see that 88 is not prime
88 is even, and every even number can be divided by 2, so 2 is a factor as well as 1 and 88.
88 has 8 factors (1, 2, 4, 8, 11, 22, 44 and 88), which make 4 factor pairs.
Split 88 into prime factors
Split off the smallest prime each time, and keep going until every part is prime:
- 88 = 2 × 44
- 88 = 2 × 2 × 22
- 88 = 2 × 2 × 2 × 11
With the repeated primes written as powers, that is 2³ × 11.
88 in the times tables
88 turns up in 2 different times tables, the 8 and 11: 8 × 11 and 11 × 8.
Quick checks that catch 88
- The last digit, 8, is even, so 2 goes in.
- Half of it is 44, which is still even, so 4 goes in.
- Its two digits match, and every two-digit number like that is in the 11 times table.
88 at a glance
- In words
- eighty-eight
- In Roman numerals
- LXXXVIII
- Odd or even
- Even: it ends in 8
- Its factors add up to
- 180, or 92 without 88 itself, which makes 88 an abundant number
The numbers either side of 88
- 87 is not prime. Its digits add up to 8 + 7 = 15, which is a multiple of 3. That means 87 is a multiple of 3 too, so 3 is a factor. Check 87 in full
- 89 is prime: 2, 3, 5 and 7 do not go into it, and 11 × 11 is already past 89. Check 89 in full
Related pages
More numbers
Questions parents ask
Which prime numbers are either side of 88?
83 below it and 89 above it, a gap of 6.
What is 88 squared?
88 × 88 = 7744.
What is the smallest number with as many factors as 88?
24. It has 8 factors, the same as 88.
Number facts are the base of 11+ maths
Factors, multiples, primes and square numbers come up all over 11+ maths, from simplifying fractions to ratio. The free diagnostic checks maths, English and both kinds of reasoning, and shows what to practise next. No card is required.