Solution: The LCM of 60 and 96 is 480
Methods
How to find the LCM of 60 and 96 using Prime Factorization
One way to find the LCM of 60 and 96 is to start by comparing the prime factorization of each number. To find the prime factorization, you can follow the instructions for each number here:
What are the Factors of 60?
What are the Factors of 96?
Here is the prime factorization of 60:
2
2
×
3
1
×
5
1
2^2 × 3^1 × 5^1
2 2 × 3 1 × 5 1
And this is the prime factorization of 96:
2
5
×
3
1
2^5 × 3^1
2 5 × 3 1
When you compare the prime factorization of these two numbers, you want to look for the highest power that each prime factor is raised to. In this case, there are these prime factors to consider: 2, 3, 5
2
5
×
3
1
×
5
1
=
480
2^5 × 3^1 × 5^1 = 480
2 5 × 3 1 × 5 1 = 480
Through this we see that the LCM of 60 and 96 is 480.
How to Find the LCM of 60 and 96 by Listing Common Multiples
The first step to this method of finding the Least Common Multiple of 60 and 96 is to begin to list a few multiples for each number. If you need a refresher on how to find the multiples of these numbers, you can see the walkthroughs in the links below for each number.
Let’s take a look at the multiples for each of these numbers, 60 and 96:
What are the Multiples of 60?
What are the Multiples of 96?
Let’s take a look at the first 10 multiples for each of these numbers, 60 and 96:
First 10 Multiples of 60: 60, 120, 180, 240, 300, 360, 420, 480, 540, 600
First 10 Multiples of 96: 96, 192, 288, 384, 480, 576, 672, 768, 864, 960
You can continue to list out the multiples of these numbers as long as needed to find a match. Once you do find a match, or several matches, the smallest of these matches would be the Least Common Multiple. For instance, the first matching multiple(s) of 60 and 96 are 480, 960, 1440. Because 480 is the smallest, it is the least common multiple.
The LCM of 60 and 96 is 480.
Find the LCM of Other Number Pairs
Want more practice? Try some of these other LCM problems:
What is the LCM of 104 and 73?
What is the LCM of 44 and 124?
What is the LCM of 15 and 47?
What is the LCM of 81 and 105?
What is the LCM of 6 and 80?