what is the lcm of 3, 36 and 75'

Question

they asked to find the least common multiple and the highest common factor of 3,36,and 75

Answer 1

Break the numbers down into their factors:

36=3*3*2*2

75=3*5*5

3 can't be broken down any further

The LCM needs to contain these factors without repeating unnecessarily. We need to have two threes because of 36; we also need two twos and two fives. The LCM is 2*2*3*3*5*5=900. If you look at how the LCM breaks down, you can see in there the 4 factors of 36 and the 3 of 75. The 3 is already one of these factors.