How to find the Least Common Multiple of 36 and 42?
On this page below, we'll use the Prime Factorisation, and the List of Multiples method to find out the LCM of 36 and 42.
Follow the steps below, and let's calculate the LCM of 36 and 42.
Method 1 - Prime factorization
Step 1: Create a list of all the prime factors of the numbers 36 and 42:
Prime factors of 36
The prime factors of 36 are 2, 2, 3 and 3. Prime factorization of 36 in exponential form is:
36 = 22x32
Prime factors of 42
The prime factors of 42 are 2, 3 and 7. Prime factorization of 42 in exponential form is:
42 = 21x31x71
Step 2: Identify the highest power of each prime number from the above boxes:
22, 32, 71
Step 3: Multiply these values together:
22x32x71=252
Step 4: The result:
As seen on the calculation above, we have now obtained the LCM of 36 and 42.
The Least Common Multiple of 36 and 42 is 252.
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 36:
36, 72, 108, 144, 180, 216, 252, 288, 324, 360
Multiples of 42:
42, 84, 126, 168, 210, 252, 294, 336, 378
Therefore,
LCM(36, 42) = 252