Question:
The sum of the exponents of the prime factors in the prime factorisation of 196, is
(a) 1
(b) 2
(c) 4
(d) 6
Solution:
Using the factor tree for prime factorization, we have:
Therefore,
$196=2 \times 2 \times 7 \times 7$
$196=2^{2} \times 7^{2}$
The exponents of 2 and 7 are 2 and 2 respectively.
Thus the sum of the exponents is 4
Hence the correct choice is (c).