- Prime Numbers Factors and Multiples
- Home
- Even and Odd Numbers
- Divisibility Rules for 2, 5, and 10
- Divisibility Rules for 3 and 9
- Factors
- Prime Numbers
- Prime Factorization
- Greatest Common Factor of 2 Numbers
- Greatest Common Factor of 3 Numbers
- Introduction to Distributive Property
- Understanding the Distributive Property
- Introduction to Factoring With Numbers
- Factoring a Sum or Difference of Whole Numbers
- Least Common Multiple of 2 Numbers
- Least Common Multiple of 3 Numbers
- Word Problem Involving the Least Common Multiple of 2 Numbers
Least Common Multiple of 3 Numbers
Finding the least common multiple (lcm) of three numbers is similar to finding the lcm of 2 numbers.
To find the least common multiple (lcm) of three numbers
- We begin by listing the first few multiples of the three numbers.
- Then we look for the common multiples of all the numbers.
- The first common multiple of the numbers would be their least common multiple.
Find the least common multiple of 6, 10, 15
Solution
Step 1:
The multiples of 6, 10 and 15 are as follows
Multiples of 6 = 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, 54, 60…
Multiples of 10 = 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80…
Multiples of 15 = 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90…
Step 2:
Some common multiples of the three numbers are 30, 60...
Step 3:
The first common multiple of 6, 10 and 15 is 30, which is their least common multiple (lcm)
Find the least common multiple of 9, 12, 24
Solution
Step 1:
The multiples of 9, 12 and 24 are as follows
Multiples of 9 = 9, 18, 27, 36, 45, 54, 63, 72
Multiples of 12 = 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72
Multiples of 24 = 24, 48, 72, 96
Step 2:
The first common multiple of 9, 12 and 24 is 72, which is their least common multiple (lcm)