Answer:
252 is a composite number.
Prime factorization: 252 = 2 x 2 x 3 x 3 x 7, which can be written 252 = (2^2) x (3^2) x 7
The exponents in the prime factorization are 2, 2, and 1. Adding one to each and multiplying we get (2 + 1)(2 + 1)(1 + 1) = 3 x 3 x 2 = 18. Therefore 252 has 18 factors.
Factors of 252: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 12, 14, 18, 21, 28, 36, 42, 63, 84, 126, 252
Factor pairs: 252 = 1 x 252, 2 x 126, 3 x 84, 4 x 63, 6 x 42, 7 x 36, 9 x 28, 12 x 21, or 14 x 18
Taking the factor pair with the largest square number factor, we get √252 = (√7)(√36) = 6√7 ≈ 15.875
Step-by-step explanation: