How to find the Least Common Multiple of 42 and 48?
On this page below, we'll use the Prime Factorisation, and the List of Multiples method to find out the LCM of 42 and 48.
Follow the steps below, and let's calculate the LCM of 42 and 48.
Method 1 - Prime factorization
Step 1: Create a list of all the prime factors of the numbers 42 and 48:
Prime factors of 42
The prime factors of 42 are 2, 3 and 7. Prime factorization of 42 in exponential form is:
42 = 21x31x71
Prime factors of 48
The prime factors of 48 are 2, 2, 2, 2 and 3. Prime factorization of 48 in exponential form is:
48 = 24x31
Step 2: Identify the highest power of each prime number from the above boxes:
24, 31, 71
Step 3: Multiply these values together:
24x31x71=336
Step 4: The result:
As seen on the calculation above, we have now obtained the LCM of 42 and 48.
The Least Common Multiple of 42 and 48 is 336.
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 42:
42, 84, 126, 168, 210, 252, 294, 336, 378, 420, 462
Multiples of 48:
48, 96, 144, 192, 240, 288, 336, 384, 432, 480
Therefore,
LCM(42, 48) = 336