Prime and composite numbers are foundational concepts in mathematics, playing a significant role in various mathematical problems, cryptography, and computer science. A prime number is a natural number greater than 1 that has exactly two distinct positive divisors: 1 and itself. A composite number is a natural number greater than 1 that is not prime, meaning it has more than two distinct positive divisors.
Prime numbers have only two positive divisors, whereas composite numbers have more than two positive divisors.