Understanding The Least Common Multiple Of 16 And 24

LCM of 16 and 24 How to Find LCM of 16, 24? from www.cuemath.com

What is the LCM?

The LCM, or Least Common Multiple, is the smallest multiple that two or more numbers have in common. In simpler terms, it is the smallest number that is a multiple of two or more given numbers.

How to Find the LCM of 16 and 24

To find the LCM of 16 and 24, we first need to list down the multiples of both numbers. For 16, the multiples are 16, 32, 48, 64, 80, and so on. For 24, the multiples are 24, 48, 72, 96, and so on.

Method 1: Listing Down Multiples

We can then compare the two lists and find the smallest number that appears in both lists. In this case, we can see that 48 is the smallest multiple that both 16 and 24 have in common. Therefore, the LCM of 16 and 24 is 48.

Method 2: Prime Factorization

Another way to find the LCM of 16 and 24 is to use prime factorization. We can break down each number into its prime factors. 16 can be written as 2 x 2 x 2 x 2, while 24 can be written as 2 x 2 x 2 x 3. We then take the highest power of each prime factor, which means we take the highest number of times each prime factor appears in either number. In this case, we take 2 to the power of 4 (the highest number of times it appears in 16) and 3 to the power of 1 (the highest number of times it appears in 24). We then multiply these numbers together, which gives us 48. Therefore, the LCM of 16 and 24 is 48.

Why is LCM Important?

The LCM is an important concept in math because it is used in various real-life situations. For example, if you want to buy enough supplies for a party and you know that each pack contains 16 plates and 24 cups, you need to find the LCM of 16 and 24 to figure out how many packs you need to buy to have enough plates and cups for everyone.

Conclusion

In conclusion, finding the LCM of 16 and 24 can be done in different ways, such as listing down multiples or using prime factorization. Regardless of the method used, the answer is the same, which is 48. The LCM is an important concept in math that has real-life applications, and understanding it can help in problem-solving and decision-making.