How many prime factors does 70 have?

Step 1: First, we need to understand what a prime factor is. A prime factor is a factor that is a prime number. Prime numbers are numbers that have only two factors: 1 and the number itself.

Step 2: Next, we need to find the prime factors of 70. We start by dividing 70 by the smallest prime number, which is 2. 70 divided by 2 is 35, so 2 is a prime factor of 70.

Step 3: We then divide 35 by the next smallest prime number, which is 3. But 35 is not divisible by 3, so we move on to the next prime number, which is 5. 35 divided by 5 is 7, so 5 is a prime factor of 70.

Step 4: Finally, we divide 7 by the next smallest prime number, which is 7. 7 divided by 7 is 1, so 7 is a prime factor of 70.

Step 5: Now that we cannot divide any further, we can conclude that the prime factors of 70 are 2, 5, and 7.

Step 6: Counting these numbers, we find that 70 has 3 prime factors.