How to find the Least Common Multiple of 12 and 18?
On this page below, we'll use the Prime Factorisation, and the List of Multiples method to find out the LCM of 12 and 18.
Follow the steps below, and let's calculate the LCM of 12 and 18.
Method 1 - Prime factorization
Step 1: Create a list of all the prime factors of the numbers 12 and 18:
Prime factors of 12
The prime factors of 12 are 2, 2 and 3. Prime factorization of 12 in exponential form is:
12 = 22x31
Prime factors of 18
The prime factors of 18 are 2, 3 and 3. Prime factorization of 18 in exponential form is:
18 = 21x32
Step 2: Identify the highest power of each prime number from the above boxes:
22, 32
Step 3: Multiply these values together:
22x32=36
Step 4: The result:
As seen on the calculation above, we have now obtained the LCM of 12 and 18.
The Least Common Multiple of 12 and 18 is 36.
Method 2 - List of Multiples
Find and list multiples of each number until the first common multiple is found. This is the lowest common multiple.
Multiples of 12:
12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72
Multiples of 18:
18, 36, 54, 72, 90
Therefore,
LCM(12, 18) = 36