Lowest Common Multiple
The Lowest Common Multiple (LCM) is the smallest positive integer that is divisible by two or more numbers. To find the LCM of two or more numbers, you can follow these steps:
- Determine the prime factors of each number involved.
- Identify the highest power of each prime factor that appears in any of the numbers.
- Multiply together all the highest powers identified in the previous step.
For example, let’s find the LCM of 9 and 12:
Step 1: Prime factors of 9 are 3 x 3 (3^2), while prime factors of 12 are 2 x 2 x 3 (2^2 x 3).
Step 2: The highest power of 2 is 2^2, and the highest power of 3 is 3^2.
Step 3: Multiply the highest powers: 2^2 x 3^2 = 4 x 9 = 36.
Therefore, the LCM of 9 and 12 is 36.
Remember, you can apply the same steps to find the LCM of more than two numbers.