Solution: The LCM of 18 and 23 is 414
Methods
How to find the LCM of 18 and 23 using Prime Factorization
One way to find the LCM of 18 and 23 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 18?
What are the Factors of 23?
Here is the prime factorization of 18:
2
1
×
3
2
2^1 × 3^2
2 1 × 3 2
And this is the prime factorization of 23:
2
3
1
23^1
2 3 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, 3, 23
2
1
×
3
2
×
2
3
1
=
414
2^1 × 3^2 × 23^1 = 414
2 1 × 3 2 × 2 3 1 = 414
Through this we see that the LCM of 18 and 23 is 414.
How to Find the LCM of 18 and 23 by Listing Common Multiples
The first step to this method of finding the Least Common Multiple of 18 and 23 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, 18 and 23:
What are the Multiples of 18?
What are the Multiples of 23?
Let’s take a look at the first 10 multiples for each of these numbers, 18 and 23:
First 10 Multiples of 18: 18, 36, 54, 72, 90, 108, 126, 144, 162, 180
First 10 Multiples of 23: 23, 46, 69, 92, 115, 138, 161, 184, 207, 230
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 18 and 23 are 414, 828, 1242. Because 414 is the smallest, it is the least common multiple.
The LCM of 18 and 23 is 414.
Find the LCM of Other Number Pairs
Want more practice? Try some of these other LCM problems:
What is the LCM of 49 and 22?
What is the LCM of 50 and 147?
What is the LCM of 20 and 35?
What is the LCM of 61 and 126?
What is the LCM of 71 and 128?