Solution: The LCM of 60 and 118 is 3540
Methods
How to find the LCM of 60 and 118 using Prime Factorization
One way to find the LCM of 60 and 118 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 60?
What are the Factors of 118?
Here is the prime factorization of 60:
2
2
×
3
1
×
5
1
2^2 × 3^1 × 5^1
2 2 × 3 1 × 5 1
And this is the prime factorization of 118:
2
1
×
5
9
1
2^1 × 59^1
2 1 × 5 9 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, 59
2
2
×
3
1
×
5
1
×
5
9
1
=
3540
2^2 × 3^1 × 5^1 × 59^1 = 3540
2 2 × 3 1 × 5 1 × 5 9 1 = 3540
Through this we see that the LCM of 60 and 118 is 3540.
How to Find the LCM of 60 and 118 by Listing Common Multiples
The first step to this method of finding the Least Common Multiple of 60 and 118 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, 60 and 118:
What are the Multiples of 60?
What are the Multiples of 118?
Let’s take a look at the first 10 multiples for each of these numbers, 60 and 118:
First 10 Multiples of 60: 60, 120, 180, 240, 300, 360, 420, 480, 540, 600
First 10 Multiples of 118: 118, 236, 354, 472, 590, 708, 826, 944, 1062, 1180
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 60 and 118 are 3540, 7080, 10620. Because 3540 is the smallest, it is the least common multiple.
The LCM of 60 and 118 is 3540.
Find the LCM of Other Number Pairs
Want more practice? Try some of these other LCM problems:
What is the LCM of 42 and 84?
What is the LCM of 59 and 124?
What is the LCM of 20 and 106?
What is the LCM of 120 and 138?
What is the LCM of 142 and 23?