Solution: The LCM of 147 and 72 is 3528
Methods
How to find the LCM of 147 and 72 using Prime Factorization
One way to find the LCM of 147 and 72 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 147?
What are the Factors of 72?
Here is the prime factorization of 147:
3
1
×
7
2
3^1 × 7^2
3 1 × 7 2
And this is the prime factorization of 72:
2
3
×
3
2
2^3 × 3^2
2 3 × 3 2
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, 7, 2
2
3
×
3
2
×
7
2
=
3528
2^3 × 3^2 × 7^2 = 3528
2 3 × 3 2 × 7 2 = 3528
Through this we see that the LCM of 147 and 72 is 3528.
How to Find the LCM of 147 and 72 by Listing Common Multiples
The first step to this method of finding the Least Common Multiple of 147 and 72 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, 147 and 72:
What are the Multiples of 147?
What are the Multiples of 72?
Let’s take a look at the first 10 multiples for each of these numbers, 147 and 72:
First 10 Multiples of 147: 147, 294, 441, 588, 735, 882, 1029, 1176, 1323, 1470
First 10 Multiples of 72: 72, 144, 216, 288, 360, 432, 504, 576, 648, 720
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 147 and 72 are 3528, 7056, 10584. Because 3528 is the smallest, it is the least common multiple.
The LCM of 147 and 72 is 3528.
Find the LCM of Other Number Pairs
Want more practice? Try some of these other LCM problems:
What is the LCM of 122 and 102?
What is the LCM of 47 and 103?
What is the LCM of 59 and 111?
What is the LCM of 16 and 107?
What is the LCM of 123 and 131?