FIND THE COMMON MULTIPLES, LCM,

GCF OF TWO NUMBERS USING THE

FOLLOWING: LISTING, PRIME
FACTORIZATION AND CONTINUOUS
DIVISION

MATH 4 QUARTER 2
 The common multiples are those multiples
that are common or the same in the given
numbers. The smallest multiples among those
common multiples will be the least common
multiples or LCM.
Listing Multiples Method

A common multiple of two numbers is a number that is a

multiple of both numbers. Suppose we want to find common
multiples of 10 and 25. We can list the first several multiples
of each number. Then we look for multiples that are common
to both lists—these are the common multiples.

10:10,20,30,40,50,60,70,80,90,100,110,...
25: 25,50,75, 100,125,…
 We see that 50 and 100 appear in both lists.
They are common multiples of 10 and 25. We
would find more common multiples if we
continued the list of multiples for each.
The smallest number that is a multiple of
two numbers is called the least common
multiple (LCM). So the least LCM
of 10 and 25 is 50.

HOW TO: FIND THE LEAST COMMON

MULTIPLE (LCM) OF TWO NUMBERS BY
LISTING MULTIPLES

Step 1. List the first several multiples of each

number.
Step 2. Look for multiples common to both lists. If
there are no common multiples in the lists, write out
additional multiples for each number.
Step 3. Look for the smallest number that is common
to both lists.
Step 4. This number is the LCM.
EXAMPLE:
Find the LCM of 15 and 20 by listing
multiples.
Solution:
List the first several multiples of 15 and
of 20. Identify the first common multiple.

15:15,30,45,60,75,90,105,120
20:20,40, 60,80,100, 120,140

The smallest number to appear on both lists

is 60, so 60 is the least common multiple
of 15 and 20. Notice that 120 is on both lists, too.
It is a common multiple, but it is not the least
common multiple.
 Prime Factors Method
Another way to find the least common multiple of two numbers is to use their prime
factors. We’ll use this method to find the LCM of 12 and 18.
We start by finding the prime factorization of each number.

12 = 2 ⋅ 2 ⋅ 3 18 = 2 ⋅ 3 ⋅ 3

Then we write each number as a product of primes, matching primes vertically when
possible.
12 = 2 ⋅ 2 ⋅ 3
18 = 2 ⋅ 3⋅ 3
Now we bring down the primes in each column. The LCM is the product of these
factors.

Notice that the prime factors of 12 and the prime factors of 18 are included in the LCM.
By matching up the common primes, each common prime factor is used only once. This
ensures that 36 is the least common multiple.
LCM by Division Method
In this method, divide the given numbers by
common prime number until the remainder is a prime
number or one. LCM will be the product obtained by
multiplying all divisors and remaining prime numbers.
Example :
Find the LCM of 24 and 15 by the division method.
Solution:
Step 1: Divide the given numbers by the least prime number.
Here, 2 is the least number which will divide 2

Step 2: Write the quotient and the number which is not divisible by the above prime number
in the second row.
In the second row, write the quotient we get after the division of 24 by 2. Since 15 is not
divisible by 2, write 15 in the second row as it is.
Step 3: Divide the numbers with another least prime number.
Step 3: Divide the numbers with another least prime number.
Step 4: Continue division until the remainder is a prime number or 1.

Step 5: Multiply all the divisors and remaining prime number (if any)
to obtain the LCM.
LCM of 24 and 15 = 2 X 2 X 2 X 3 X 5 = 2 cubed X 3 X 5 = 120
The common factors are those factors
that are all common in the two or more
numbers. The largest factor among those
common factors will be the greatest
common factor or GCF.
What is the GCF of 30 and 42?
Solution:
Step 1 - List out the factors of each number.
Step 2 - Mark all the common factors.
Step 3 - 6 is the common factor and the greatest one.
 Therefore, GCF of 30 and 42 = 6. This
method can be used for finding GCF of three
or more numbers as well.
Finding the greatest common factor by listing
factors may be difficult if the numbers are
bigger. In such cases, we use the 
prime factorization and division methods for
finding GCF.
GCF by Prime Factorization

Prime factorization is a way of expressing a number

as a product of its prime factors, starting from the
smallest prime factor of that number.
 What is the GCF of 60 and 90?
Solution:
Step 1 - Represent the numbers in the prime factored form.
Step 2 - GCF is the product of the factors that are common to each of the
given numbers.

Thus, GCF (60,90) = 21 × 31× 51 = 30. Therefore, GCF of 60 and 90 =
30.
Finding GCF by Division Method

The division is a method of grouping objects in equal groups,

whereas for large numbers we follow long division, which breaks down a
division problem into a series of easier steps. The greatest common factor
(GCF) of a set of whole numbers is the largest positive integer that
divides all the given numbers, without leaving any remainder.

Find the GCF of 198 and 360 using the division method.
Solution:
Among the given two numbers, 360 is the larger number
Step 1 - Divide the larger number by the smaller number using long division.
Step 2 - If the remainder is 0, then the divisor is the GCF. If the remainder is not
0, then make the remainder of the above step as the divisor and the divisor of the
above step as the dividend and perform long division again.
Step 3 - If the remainder is 0, then the divisor of the last division is the GCF. If
the remainder is not 0, then we have to repeat step 2 until we get the remainder 0.
 Therefore, the GCF of the given two
numbers is the divisor of the last division. In
this case, the divisor of the last division is 18.
Therefore, the GCF of 198 and 360 is 18.