What is the least common multibie of 12 and 16?

Answer 1

The least common multiple (LCM) has enough factors from each number that you can divide the LCM by the number and get a whole number as a result (no remainder)

12 = 2 x 2 x 3

16 = 2 x 2 x 2 x 2

factor down to prime numbers (2, 3, 5, 7, 11, etc) to see relationships better. in other words, divide the factors until you can't any more without getting a remainder

12 = two of 2 and one 3

16 = four of 2

16 has more 2's than 12, so the LCM needs to have the number of 2's that 16 has.

12 has more 3's than 16, so the LCM needs to have the number of 3's that 12 has.

LCM = 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 3 = 48

This might be more complicated than other methods, but this is the one that makes the most sense to me.