Solution: The LCM of 42 and 86 is 1806
Methods
How to find the LCM of 42 and 86 using Prime Factorization
One way to find the LCM of 42 and 86 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 42?
What are the Factors of 86?
Here is the prime factorization of 42:
2
1
×
3
1
×
7
1
2^1 × 3^1 × 7^1
2 1 × 3 1 × 7 1
And this is the prime factorization of 86:
2
1
×
4
3
1
2^1 × 43^1
2 1 × 4 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, 7, 43
2
1
×
3
1
×
7
1
×
4
3
1
=
1806
2^1 × 3^1 × 7^1 × 43^1 = 1806
2 1 × 3 1 × 7 1 × 4 3 1 = 1806
Through this we see that the LCM of 42 and 86 is 1806.
How to Find the LCM of 42 and 86 by Listing Common Multiples
The first step to this method of finding the Least Common Multiple of 42 and 86 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, 42 and 86:
What are the Multiples of 42?
What are the Multiples of 86?
Let’s take a look at the first 10 multiples for each of these numbers, 42 and 86:
First 10 Multiples of 42: 42, 84, 126, 168, 210, 252, 294, 336, 378, 420
First 10 Multiples of 86: 86, 172, 258, 344, 430, 516, 602, 688, 774, 860
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 42 and 86 are 1806, 3612, 5418. Because 1806 is the smallest, it is the least common multiple.
The LCM of 42 and 86 is 1806.
Find the LCM of Other Number Pairs
Want more practice? Try some of these other LCM problems:
What is the LCM of 36 and 106?
What is the LCM of 94 and 3?
What is the LCM of 21 and 65?
What is the LCM of 130 and 91?
What is the LCM of 86 and 6?