High School

We appreciate your visit to Work out the least common multiple LCM of 15 and 20. This page offers clear insights and highlights the essential aspects of the topic. Our goal is to provide a helpful and engaging learning experience. Explore the content and find the answers you need!

Work out the least common multiple (LCM) of 15 and 20.

Answer :

To work out the least common multiple (LCM) of 15 and 20, let's follow these steps:

1. Understand Prime Factorization:
- First, we need to find the prime factorization of each number.
- 15 can be expressed as 3 × 5.
- 20 can be expressed as 2 × 2 × 5 (or [tex]\(2^2 × 5\)[/tex]).

2. List All Prime Factors:
- For the LCM, we take the highest power of each prime number that appears in the factorization of the given numbers.
- From 15, we have the prime factors 3 and 5.
- From 20, we have the prime factors 2 and 5.

3. Determine the LCM by Using the Highest Powers:
- For the prime number 2, it appears in the factorization of 20 as [tex]\(2^2\)[/tex]. So, we use [tex]\(2^2\)[/tex].
- For the prime number 3, it appears in the factorization of 15 as [tex]\(3^1\)[/tex]. So, we use [tex]\(3^1\)[/tex].
- For the prime number 5, it appears in both numbers, but the highest power is [tex]\(5^1\)[/tex]. So, we use [tex]\(5^1\)[/tex].

4. Calculate the LCM:
- Multiply the selected prime factors: [tex]\(2^2 × 3^1 × 5^1\)[/tex].
- Compute this step-by-step:
- [tex]\(2^2 = 4\)[/tex]
- [tex]\(4 × 3 = 12\)[/tex]
- [tex]\(12 × 5 = 60\)[/tex]

Therefore, the least common multiple (LCM) of 15 and 20 is 60.

Thanks for taking the time to read Work out the least common multiple LCM of 15 and 20. We hope the insights shared have been valuable and enhanced your understanding of the topic. Don�t hesitate to browse our website for more informative and engaging content!

Rewritten by : Barada