Solution: The LCM of 45 and 86 is 3870
Methods
How to find the LCM of 45 and 86 using Prime Factorization
One way to find the LCM of 45 and 86 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 45?
What are the Factors of 86?
Here is the prime factorization of 45:
3
2
×
5
1
3^2 × 5^1
3 2 × 5 1
And this is the prime factorization of 86:
2
1
×
4
3
1
2^1 × 43^1
2 1 × 4 3 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: 3, 5, 2, 43
2
1
×
3
2
×
5
1
×
4
3
1
=
3870
2^1 × 3^2 × 5^1 × 43^1 = 3870
2 1 × 3 2 × 5 1 × 4 3 1 = 3870
Through this we see that the LCM of 45 and 86 is 3870.
How to Find the LCM of 45 and 86 by Listing Common Multiples
The first step to this method of finding the Least Common Multiple of 45 and 86 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, 45 and 86:
What are the Multiples of 45?
What are the Multiples of 86?
Let’s take a look at the first 10 multiples for each of these numbers, 45 and 86:
First 10 Multiples of 45: 45, 90, 135, 180, 225, 270, 315, 360, 405, 450
First 10 Multiples of 86: 86, 172, 258, 344, 430, 516, 602, 688, 774, 860
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 45 and 86 are 3870, 7740, 11610. Because 3870 is the smallest, it is the least common multiple.
The LCM of 45 and 86 is 3870.
Find the LCM of Other Number Pairs
Want more practice? Try some of these other LCM problems:
What is the LCM of 141 and 94?
What is the LCM of 44 and 91?
What is the LCM of 74 and 49?
What is the LCM of 137 and 101?
What is the LCM of 80 and 75?