Answer:
A prime number doesn't have any factors besides one and itself. For example, 17 is a prime number because you can't multiply anything to get 17 besides 17 and 1 (excluding decimals).
Composite numbers are numbers that have other factors other than 1 and themselves. Example: 12 is a composite number because you can multiply 3 by 4 to get 12, or 2 by 6 to get 12, not just 12 times 1.