Python program to find the lcm of two numbers

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LCM stands for Least Common Multiple, which is the smallest number that two or more numbers can be divided by evenly (without a remainder).

For example, to find the LCM of 4 and 6. We can list out the multiples of each number:

Multiples of 4: 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40, …

Multiples of 6: 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, …

From the above list, we can see that the smallest number that appears in both lists is 12. So, 12 is the LCM of 4 and 6.

The formula to find LCM is:

LCM(a, b) = (a * b) / GCD(a, b)

where GCD stands for Greatest Common Divisor. So, to find the LCM of 4 and 6 using the formula:

LCM(4, 6) = (4 * 6) / GCD(4, 6)
GCD(4, 6) is 2, so:
LCM(4, 6) = (4 * 6) / 2 = 12

Therefore, the LCM of 4 and 6 is 12.

Using the Greatest Common Divisor method.


# This function computes GCD 
def compute_gcd(x, y):

   while(y):
       x, y = y, x % y
   return x

# This function computes LCM
def compute_lcm(x, y):
   lcm = (x*y)//compute_gcd(x,y)
   return lcm

num1 = 54
num2 = 24 

print("The L.C.M. is", compute_lcm(num1, num2))

Output

Enter the first number: 45
Enter the second number: 716
The LCM of 45 and 716 is 32220

In this example, we define two functions, compute_gcd() and compute_lcm(), which compute the GCD and LCM of two numbers respectively. It takes two numbers as input from the user and prints their LCM by calling the compute_lcm() function.

Conclusion

To find the LCM of two numbers using GCD method, we need to multiply the two numbers and then divide the result by their GCD.

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