Nod your head in a yes in case you were the type who did not like LCM and HCF in school. Nod your head again if you never or just rarely got correct answers in calculating LCM and HCF. Well, whatever ...

The lowest/least common multiple (abbreviated to LCM) is the lowest number that is a multiple of two or more subject-numbers. For example, the common multiples of 4 and 5 are 20, 40, 60, 80 and so on.

Suppose p is a prime integer. The LCM of (p^a, p^b) is p^{max(a, b)} If X = p1^a1 p2^a2 ... pn^an If we have to split their prime factors among a and b. We must give p1^a1 to at least one of (a, b).