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Lowest Common Multiple for Dummies

noun


What does Lowest Common Multiple really mean?

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Hey there! Don't worry, I'm here to help you understand what "Lowest Common Multiple" means. It's actually not as complex as it may sound at first, so let's break it down together.

Okay, let's imagine you have two numbers - let's call them A and B. The "Lowest Common Multiple" (LCM for short) is the smallest number that can be evenly divided by both A and B. In other words, it's the smallest number that both A and B can go into without leaving any remainder.

Now, let's think of a real-life scenario to better understand this concept. Imagine you have two friends, and they each have a certain number of candies. Let's say Friend A has 4 candies and Friend B has 6 candies. Now, you want to share the candies equally between the two friends, so you need to figure out how many candies you need to distribute.

To find the LCM in this situation, you would start by listing the multiples of each friend's candies. For Friend A, the multiples of 4 would be 4, 8, 12, 16, and so on. For Friend B, the multiples of 6 would be 6, 12, 18, 24, and so on.

Now, to find the lowest common multiple, you look for the smallest number that appears on both lists. In this case, the smallest number that appears on both lists is 12. So, if you have 12 candies, you can distribute them equally between Friend A and Friend B, giving each of them 6 candies.

Phew! I know that was a lot of information, but I hope it helped you understand what "Lowest Common Multiple" means. It's all about finding the smallest number that can be divided evenly by two given numbers. So, next time you come across this term, just remember the story of sharing candies between friends!

Revised and Fact checked by John Doe on 2023-10-29 02:23:29

Lowest Common Multiple In a sentece

Learn how to use Lowest Common Multiple inside a sentece

  • If you want to buy new pencils and you want to buy a pack of 6 and a pack of 8, the lowest common multiple of 6 and 8 is 24. So you should buy a pack of 24 pencils to have enough for both packs.
  • If you have two favorite TV shows and one airs every 4 days and the other airs every 6 days, the lowest common multiple of 4 and 6 is 12. So, after 12 days, you will be able to watch both shows on the same day.
  • Imagine you have a collection of marbles and you want to arrange them in rows with the same number of marbles. If you have 15 marbles and 20 marbles, the lowest common multiple of 15 and 20 is 60. So, you can arrange your marbles in rows of 60 to have equal rows.
  • If you want to plan a family gathering and you want to have a barbecue every 2 weeks and a game night every 3 weeks, the lowest common multiple of 2 and 3 is 6. So, after 6 weeks, you can have both the barbecue and the game night on the same day.
  • Let's say you are painting a mural and you want to repeat a pattern of flowers every 10 strokes and a pattern of butterflies every 12 strokes. The lowest common multiple of 10 and 12 is 60. So, after 60 strokes, you will complete both patterns on the mural.

Lowest Common Multiple Synonyms

Words that can be interchanged for the original word in the same context.

Lowest Common Multiple Hypernyms

Words that are more generic than the original word.