Write 850 as the product of its prime factors. a. 10 × 85 b. 5 × 10 × 17 c. 17 × 50 d. 2 × 5 × 5 × 17

Prime factors are prime numbers. 
Prime numbers are numbers which can only be divisible by 1 and itself.

850 ÷ 2 = 425
425 ÷ 5 =   85
  85 ÷ 5 =   17

2 x 5 x 5 x 17 = 850  CHOICE D.

If you would like to write 850 as the product of its prime factors, you can do this using the following steps:

850 / 2 = 425
425 / 5 = 85
85 / 5 = 17
17 / 17 = 1

850 = 2 * 5 * 5 * 17

The correct result would be D. 2 x 5 x 5 x 17.