What is the lcm of 4 & 6?

1 Answer
Apr 10, 2018

#12#

Explanation:

In general, to find the lowest common multiple, you multiply different factors based on which one has the highest exponent.

The prime factorization of #4#:

#2^2#

The prime factorization of #6#:

#2^1*3^1#

You can see that we have two different factors (#2# and #3#). You can see that we have two "#2#" factors, so choose the one that has the highest exponent (#2^2#)

Multiply:

#2^2*3^1=4*3=12#

The lcm is #12#.