For any two positive integers x and y, an LCM exists. If it exists, we can identify it.
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You can always determine a common multiple of two numbers by multiplying them together. You can find out if it's the LCM by dividing it by their GCF.
You need to answer this question because we don’t do math homework and your teacher is looking for your critical thinking skills and how well you understood the lesson.
This does not work when one of the numbers is negative.
No. Factors go into numbers, numbers go into multiples.
If the GCF of a given pair of numbers is 1, the LCM will be equal to their product. If the GCF is greater than 1, the LCM will be less than their product. Or, stated another way, if the two numbers have no common prime factors, their LCM will be their product.
Two or more whole numbers are required to determine their least common multiple.
The LCM of one number is itself, because LCM stands for least common multiple, it usually (in fact almost always) deals with two or more numbers.