How to find the Least Common Multiple of 3 and 12?
On this page below, we'll use the Prime Factorisation, and the List of Multiples method to find out the LCM of 3 and 12.
Follow the steps below, and let's calculate the LCM of 3 and 12.
Method 1 - Prime factorization
Step 1: Create a list of all the prime factors of the numbers 3 and 12:
Prime factors of 3
The prime factors of 3 are 3. Prime factorization of 3 in exponential form is:
3 = 31
Prime factors of 12
The prime factors of 12 are 2, 2 and 3. Prime factorization of 12 in exponential form is:
12 = 22x31
Step 2: Identify the highest power of each prime number from the above boxes:
31, 22
Step 3: Multiply these values together:
31x22=12
Step 4: The result:
As seen on the calculation above, we have now obtained the LCM of 3 and 12.
The Least Common Multiple of 3 and 12 is 12.
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 3:
3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21
Multiples of 12:
12, 24, 36, 48
Therefore,
LCM(3, 12) = 12