Prime factors of number
Python, Math, Algorithm · May 24, 2023

Finds and returns the list of prime factors of a number.
- Use a
while
loop to iterate over all possible prime factors, starting with2
. - If the current
factor
exactly dividesnum
, addfactor
to thefactors
list and dividenum
byfactor
. Otherwise, incrementfactor
by one.
def prime_factors(num):
factors = []
factor = 2
while (num >= 2):
if (num % factor == 0):
factors.append(factor)
num = num / factor
else:
factor += 1
return factors
prime_factors(12) # [2,2,3]
prime_factors(42) # [2,3,7]