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16 (number)

natural number

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 11, 2026
Entity authorityQ40254
Source-derived summary

16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. It is the fourth power of two.

Mathematics

16 is the ninth composite number, and a square number: 42 = 4 × 4. It is the first fourth-power prime of the form p4: 16 = 24. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors: 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16.

Sixteen is the only integer that equals mn and nm, for some unequal integers m and n (

m

=

4

{\displaystyle m=4}

,

n

=

2

{\displaystyle n=2}

, or vice versa). It has this property because

2

2

=

2

×

2

{\displaystyle 2^{2}=2\times 2}

. It is also equal to 32 (see tetration).

The aliquot sum of 16 is 15, within an aliquot sequence of four composite members (16, 15, 9, 4, 3, 1, 0) that belong to the prime 3-aliquot tree.

Sixteen is the largest known integer n, for which

2

n

+

1

{\displaystyle 2^{n}+1}

is prime.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “16 (number)” as natural number. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current 164-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where number and natural can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as natural number. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q40254. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.

Critical limits

The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “16 (number)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow 16 (number) primary sources, 16 (number) archive and number research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “16 (number)”?
  2. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
  3. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from 16 (number)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.