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Find the least common multiple of these two expressions. 8x^5y^3v^7 and 4y^6v^8

User Mollie
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Seems to me that the least common multiple is the product of a list of factors that consists of each distinct 'prime' factor of both expressions, with each one listed with the highest power to which it appears in either expression.

I never tried this with algebraic expressions before. Let's see what comes out.

The 'prime' factors of (8x⁵y³v⁷) are 2³, x⁵, y³, and v⁷ .

The factors of (4y⁶v⁸) are 2², y⁶, and v⁸ .

Those are the factors that have t appear in the GCM.

So THAT has to be . . . 2³ · x⁵ · y⁶ · v⁸ , or

8 x⁵ y⁶ v⁸

User Davidm
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