Understanding The Lcm Of 36 And 12

LCM of 12 and 36 How to Find LCM of 12, 36? from www.cuemath.com

What is LCM?

LCM, or Least Common Multiple, is the smallest positive integer that is a multiple of two or more given numbers. It is also known as the lowest common multiple or smallest common multiple.

Calculating LCM

There are several ways to find the LCM of two numbers, but one common method is to list the multiples of each number and find the smallest multiple that they have in common. For example, to find the LCM of 36 and 12, we can list their multiples: Multiples of 36: 36, 72, 108, 144, 180, 216, ... Multiples of 12: 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96, 108, ... We can see that the smallest multiple they have in common is 36. Therefore, the LCM of 36 and 12 is 36.

Why is LCM important?

LCM is an important concept in mathematics and is used in many real-life applications, such as scheduling, time management, and finding equivalent fractions. For example, if we want to schedule a meeting that repeats every 12 days and another meeting that repeats every 36 days, we need to find the LCM of 12 and 36, which is 36. This means that the meetings will coincide every 36 days, and we can schedule them accordingly.

LCM and Fractions

LCM is also used to find the equivalent fractions. To add or subtract fractions with different denominators, we need to find the LCM of their denominators and convert the fractions to equivalent fractions with the same denominator. For example, to add 1/4 and 2/3, we need to find the LCM of 4 and 3, which is 12. We can then convert 1/4 to 3/12 and 2/3 to 8/12, and add them to get 11/12.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the LCM of 36 and 12 is 36, which is the smallest positive integer that is a multiple of both numbers. LCM is an important concept in mathematics and is used in many real-life applications, such as scheduling and finding equivalent fractions. By understanding LCM, we can solve many mathematical problems and make our lives easier.