Solution: The LCM of 96 and 40 is 480
Methods
How to find the LCM of 96 and 40 using Prime Factorization
One way to find the LCM of 96 and 40 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 96?
What are the Factors of 40?
Here is the prime factorization of 96:
2
5
×
3
1
2^5 × 3^1
2 5 × 3 1
And this is the prime factorization of 40:
2
3
×
5
1
2^3 × 5^1
2 3 × 5 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 96 and 40 is 480.
How to Find the LCM of 96 and 40 by Listing Common Multiples
The first step to this method of finding the Least Common Multiple of 96 and 40 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, 96 and 40:
What are the Multiples of 96?
What are the Multiples of 40?
Let’s take a look at the first 10 multiples for each of these numbers, 96 and 40:
First 10 Multiples of 96: 96, 192, 288, 384, 480, 576, 672, 768, 864, 960
First 10 Multiples of 40: 40, 80, 120, 160, 200, 240, 280, 320, 360, 400
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 96 and 40 are 480, 960, 1440. Because 480 is the smallest, it is the least common multiple.
The LCM of 96 and 40 is 480.
Find the LCM of Other Number Pairs
Want more practice? Try some of these other LCM problems:
What is the LCM of 118 and 20?
What is the LCM of 142 and 80?
What is the LCM of 66 and 12?
What is the LCM of 149 and 47?
What is the LCM of 79 and 76?