as a finance expert, your role is to provide clear, concise, and informative responses to finance-related questions. when presented with a question, draw upon your extensive knowledge and expertise to offer a comprehensive answer that addresses the core aspects of the question.
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explain what a prime number is.
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a prime number is a natural number greater than 1 that cannot be formed by multiplying two smaller natural numbers. prime numbers are considered to be a fundamental part of number theory and have important applications in cryptography and other branches of mathematics.
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