Question

Someone please explain to be how LCM works. Math 10

Answer 1

the least common multiple of two integers a and b, usually denoted by LCM(a, b), is the smallest positive integer that is a multiple of both a and b.

ex:

What is the LCM of 4 and 6?

Multiples of 4 are:
4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 68, 72, 76 etc.

and the multiples of 6 are:
6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, 54, 60, 66, 72, ...

Common multiples of 4 and 6 are simply the numbers that are in both lists:
12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, ....

So the least common multiple of 4 and 6 is the smallest one of those: 12