Solution: The LCM of 46 and 15 is 690
Methods
How to find the LCM of 46 and 15 using Prime Factorization
One way to find the LCM of 46 and 15 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 46?
What are the Factors of 15?
Here is the prime factorization of 46:
2
1
×
2
3
1
2^1 × 23^1
2 1 × 2 3 1
And this is the prime factorization of 15:
3
1
×
5
1
3^1 × 5^1
3 1 × 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, 23, 3, 5
2
1
×
3
1
×
5
1
×
2
3
1
=
690
2^1 × 3^1 × 5^1 × 23^1 = 690
2 1 × 3 1 × 5 1 × 2 3 1 = 690
Through this we see that the LCM of 46 and 15 is 690.
How to Find the LCM of 46 and 15 by Listing Common Multiples
The first step to this method of finding the Least Common Multiple of 46 and 15 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, 46 and 15:
What are the Multiples of 46?
What are the Multiples of 15?
Let’s take a look at the first 10 multiples for each of these numbers, 46 and 15:
First 10 Multiples of 46: 46, 92, 138, 184, 230, 276, 322, 368, 414, 460
First 10 Multiples of 15: 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 105, 120, 135, 150
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 46 and 15 are 690, 1380, 2070. Because 690 is the smallest, it is the least common multiple.
The LCM of 46 and 15 is 690.
Find the LCM of Other Number Pairs
Want more practice? Try some of these other LCM problems:
What is the LCM of 68 and 22?
What is the LCM of 104 and 92?
What is the LCM of 65 and 27?
What is the LCM of 52 and 143?
What is the LCM of 9 and 15?