What Is The Least Common Multiple Of 5 And 12?

K12 GRADE 5 LEAST COMMON MULTIPLE (LCM) USING CONTINUOUS DIVISION from www.youtube.com

Introduction

When working with numbers, one of the most common operations is finding the least common multiple (LCM) of two or more numbers. The LCM is the smallest number that is a multiple of both of the given numbers. In this article, we will discuss how to find the LCM of 5 and 12.

Method 1: Listing Multiples

One way to find the LCM of two numbers is to list their multiples and find the smallest multiple that they have in common. For example, the multiples of 5 are: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 100, 105, 110, 115, 120, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 150, etc. The multiples of 12 are: 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96, 108, 120, etc. We can see that the smallest multiple that both 5 and 12 have in common is 60. Therefore, the LCM of 5 and 12 is 60.

Method 2: Prime Factorization

Another way to find the LCM of two numbers is to use their prime factorization. To do this, we need to find the prime factors of each number and then multiply them together, using the highest power of each prime factor that appears in either number. The prime factorization of 5 is 5, and the prime factorization of 12 is 2 x 2 x 3. Therefore, the LCM of 5 and 12 is: LCM(5, 12) = 2 x 2 x 3 x 5 = 60.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the LCM of 5 and 12 is 60. There are two methods that can be used to find the LCM: listing multiples and using prime factorization. Both methods are valid and can be used depending on the situation. It is important to understand the concept of LCM and how to find it, as it is a common task in many mathematical problems.