Solution: The LCM of 18 and 60 is 180
Methods
How to find the LCM of 18 and 60 using Prime Factorization
One way to find the LCM of 18 and 60 is to start by comparing the prime factorization of each number. To find the prime factorization, you can follow the instructions for each number here:
What are the Factors of 18?
What are the Factors of 60?
Here is the prime factorization of 18:
2
1
×
3
2
2^1 × 3^2
2 1 × 3 2
And this is the prime factorization of 60:
2
2
×
3
1
×
5
1
2^2 × 3^1 × 5^1
2 2 × 3 1 × 5 1
When you compare the prime factorization of these two numbers, you want to look for the highest power that each prime factor is raised to. In this case, there are these prime factors to consider: 2, 3, 5
2
2
×
3
2
×
5
1
=
180
2^2 × 3^2 × 5^1 = 180
2 2 × 3 2 × 5 1 = 180
Through this we see that the LCM of 18 and 60 is 180.
How to Find the LCM of 18 and 60 by Listing Common Multiples
The first step to this method of finding the Least Common Multiple of 18 and 60 is to begin to list a few multiples for each number. If you need a refresher on how to find the multiples of these numbers, you can see the walkthroughs in the links below for each number.
Let’s take a look at the multiples for each of these numbers, 18 and 60:
What are the Multiples of 18?
What are the Multiples of 60?
Let’s take a look at the first 10 multiples for each of these numbers, 18 and 60:
First 10 Multiples of 18: 18, 36, 54, 72, 90, 108, 126, 144, 162, 180
First 10 Multiples of 60: 60, 120, 180, 240, 300, 360, 420, 480, 540, 600
You can continue to list out the multiples of these numbers as long as needed to find a match. Once you do find a match, or several matches, the smallest of these matches would be the Least Common Multiple. For instance, the first matching multiple(s) of 18 and 60 are 180, 360, 540. Because 180 is the smallest, it is the least common multiple.
The LCM of 18 and 60 is 180.
Find the LCM of Other Number Pairs
Want more practice? Try some of these other LCM problems:
What is the LCM of 56 and 140?
What is the LCM of 102 and 109?
What is the LCM of 13 and 66?
What is the LCM of 51 and 74?
What is the LCM of 137 and 132?