What are the lowest common multiples?

Answer 1

3,6,9,12,15,18,21,24,27,30,33,etc are multiples of 3

4,8,12,16,20,24,28,32,36,etc are multiples of 4

These lists have some numbers that are the same.

12, 24, 36 etc. These are all common multiples.

12 is the smallest of these common multiples. Smallest = Lowest (or least)

12 is the lowest common multiple of 3 and 4

Notice that both 3 and 4 divide evenly into all these common multiples.

So one way of explaining this is to say that the lowest common multiple is the smallest number that both numbers will evenly divide into.

Math books and many teachers will tell you that to find the LCM you must begin by doing a prime factorization of both numbers and then using all factors from each without repeating them. This can be confusing when there one number is a repeated factor in one or the other or both of the numbers you are given to find the LCM.