Where Do We Use LCM (Lowest Common Multiple) In Real Life?

When would you use lowest common multiples (LCM) in daily life?

Examples:

• Lets say you ran a car manufacturing plant that used special screws to hold its car motors together. The screws come in packages of 8, and the motors come in packages of 10. You don't want a lot of extra screws around, because they are very expensive. So you wonder- at what point do the screws and motors match up in packages of 8 and 10? That way you can order them in even amounts.

The answer is 40, because 5 x 8 and 4 x 10 both = 40.

• Fractions also - if you have a recipe that uses 3 3/4 cup of flour, but you add an extra 1 1/3 cup, When your friend asks for the recipe, what amount of flour will she need? You have to have common denominators to add the fractions, which means finding the LCM of 4 and 3.

Ot used to tell us that when two things ring together.