Question:easy

The natural number 1 is :

Show Hint

Remember that 2 is the smallest prime number and the only even prime number.
The number 1 is uniquely classified as a unit, making it the only positive integer greater than 0 that is neither prime nor composite.
Updated On: Jul 7, 2026
  • a prime number.
  • a composite number.
  • prime as well as composite.
  • neither prime nor composite.
Show Solution

The Correct Option is D

Solution and Explanation

Step 1: Count the divisors of 1 instead of quoting the definitions.
A cleaner way to settle this is to just count how many positive divisors the number 1 has, then compare that count to what prime numbers and composite numbers need.
The only positive number that divides 1 exactly is 1 itself. So 1 has exactly one divisor.

Step 2: Check the divisor-count rule for primes.
A prime number must have exactly two different divisors: 1 and the number itself. For example, 7 has divisors 1 and 7, so it has two divisors.
Since 1 has only one divisor, not two, it fails the test for being prime.

Step 3: Check the divisor-count rule for composites.
A composite number must have more than two divisors (at least three, since it can be split into smaller factors besides 1 and itself).
Since 1 has only one divisor, it also fails the test for being composite, because one divisor is less than the three or more that a composite number needs.

Step 4: Final Answer.
Since 1 has exactly one divisor, and both prime and composite numbers need more than one divisor by their own definitions, 1 fits neither group. It is neither prime nor composite, so option (D) is correct. \[ \boxed{\text{Neither prime nor composite}} \]
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