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Find the LCM of 12 and 22

User Bunnie
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Answer: LCM = 132

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Step-by-step explanation

I'll go over 3 methods to finding the LCM

The first method has us take a slight detour to find the GCF.

Write the prime factorization of each value

  • 12 = 2*2*3
  • 22 = 2*11

We see that 2 is the only common factor, so it is the GCF.

Then we multiply the two original values and divide by the GCF to get the LCM.

So,

LCM = (x*y)/GCF

LCM = (12*22)/2

LCM = 264/2

LCM = 132

Note: This trick works when working with two values only.

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The 2nd method will have us return back to the prime factorization

12 = 2*2*3

22 = 2*11

We have the unique primes of: 2, 3, and 11

The prime "2" shows up at most twice, 3 at most once, and 11 at most once. This would mean the LCM is 2*2*3*11 = 4*33 = 132

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Method number 3

List out the multiples of 12 and 22 until you find a common multiple.

I'll highlight the smallest common multiple in bold

  • Multiples of 12 are: 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96, 108, 120, 132, 144, 156, ...
  • Multiples of 22 are: 22, 44, 66, 88, 110, 132, 154, 176, ...

We see that 132 is the LCM.

There are likely other methods to finding the LCM.

User Masaki Hara
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