Mini Poster On Prime Factorizations

P

rime

Pair- 60, 72

F

actorization

Prime factorization of 60= Factorization of 72=

Prime

In order to find the LCM of the pair by using the prime factorization, we must first figure out the GCF. How we figure out the GCF, is if we have the prime factorization of the two numbers. For 60(22 x 31 x 51), and for 72 (23 x 32). The way to now find the GCF is to multiply the prime factors using the greatest power these prime numbers have in common. So we multiply 22 x 31= 12 to get the GCF. The reason why I multiplied those numbers is because those are the greatest power of times the numbers have a prime factor in common. To find the LCM, we write the pair, (60, 72) and then divide the first number in the pair by the pair’s GCF. (60/12=5) Then we multiply that number by the second number in the pair.

(60/12=5 x 72=360=LCM) So 360 is the LCM of 60 and 72.