Solution: The LCM of 87 and 50 is 4350
Methods
How to find the LCM of 87 and 50 using Prime Factorization
One way to find the LCM of 87 and 50 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 87?
What are the Factors of 50?
Here is the prime factorization of 87:
3
1
×
2
9
1
3^1 × 29^1
3 1 × 2 9 1
And this is the prime factorization of 50:
2
1
×
5
2
2^1 × 5^2
2 1 × 5 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, 29, 2, 5
2
1
×
3
1
×
5
2
×
2
9
1
=
4350
2^1 × 3^1 × 5^2 × 29^1 = 4350
2 1 × 3 1 × 5 2 × 2 9 1 = 4350
Through this we see that the LCM of 87 and 50 is 4350.
How to Find the LCM of 87 and 50 by Listing Common Multiples
The first step to this method of finding the Least Common Multiple of 87 and 50 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, 87 and 50:
What are the Multiples of 87?
What are the Multiples of 50?
Let’s take a look at the first 10 multiples for each of these numbers, 87 and 50:
First 10 Multiples of 87: 87, 174, 261, 348, 435, 522, 609, 696, 783, 870
First 10 Multiples of 50: 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, 400, 450, 500
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 87 and 50 are 4350, 8700, 13050. Because 4350 is the smallest, it is the least common multiple.
The LCM of 87 and 50 is 4350.
Find the LCM of Other Number Pairs
Want more practice? Try some of these other LCM problems:
What is the LCM of 54 and 148?
What is the LCM of 72 and 101?
What is the LCM of 118 and 22?
What is the LCM of 70 and 59?
What is the LCM of 117 and 28?