PRIME INVESTIGATIONS © SchoolCentre

1. Write down any 3 prime numbers. 2. How many prime numbers are there
between 1 and 10?

3. Write down the prime 4. All non-prime numbers EXCEPT one

numbers from 10 to 20. other number are
composite numbers.

Which number is the only exception?

5. Write down the composite numbers from 1 to 20.

Investigation Eratosthenes was a famous Greek mathematician who lived around 230 BC. He
is best known for finding a way to ‘sieve out’ the prime numbers from other
counting numbers. His method is called the ‘Sieve of Eratosthenes’!

Materials Coloured pencils.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Strategy Follow the steps below and you will discover 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

the prime numbers from 1 to 100. 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
1. Colour 1 black.
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
2. Colour all the multiples of 2, except 2, in red. 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
3. Colour all the remaining multiples of 3, except 3, in green. 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70
4. Colour all the remaining multiples of 5, except 5, in blue. 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80

5. Colour all the remaining multiples of 7, except 7, in yellow. 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90

6. List the numbers not coloured as they are the primes! 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100

© Set 7, Activity 098