Solution: The LCM of 39 and 96 is 1248
Methods
How to find the LCM of 39 and 96 using Prime Factorization
One way to find the LCM of 39 and 96 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 39?
What are the Factors of 96?
Here is the prime factorization of 39:
3
1
×
1
3
1
3^1 × 13^1
3 1 × 1 3 1
And this is the prime factorization of 96:
2
5
×
3
1
2^5 × 3^1
2 5 × 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: 3, 13, 2
2
5
×
3
1
×
1
3
1
=
1248
2^5 × 3^1 × 13^1 = 1248
2 5 × 3 1 × 1 3 1 = 1248
Through this we see that the LCM of 39 and 96 is 1248.
How to Find the LCM of 39 and 96 by Listing Common Multiples
The first step to this method of finding the Least Common Multiple of 39 and 96 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, 39 and 96:
What are the Multiples of 39?
What are the Multiples of 96?
Let’s take a look at the first 10 multiples for each of these numbers, 39 and 96:
First 10 Multiples of 39: 39, 78, 117, 156, 195, 234, 273, 312, 351, 390
First 10 Multiples of 96: 96, 192, 288, 384, 480, 576, 672, 768, 864, 960
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 39 and 96 are 1248, 2496, 3744. Because 1248 is the smallest, it is the least common multiple.
The LCM of 39 and 96 is 1248.
Find the LCM of Other Number Pairs
Want more practice? Try some of these other LCM problems:
What is the LCM of 87 and 138?
What is the LCM of 23 and 38?
What is the LCM of 56 and 14?
What is the LCM of 36 and 59?
What is the LCM of 99 and 142?