When you completed the last activity on scientific notation, you first practised writing multiples of 10 (100 = 10 x 10)

Multiples are the product (answer) of a known number and a whole number. For example, to find the first five multiples of the number 2, you would do the following:

• 2 x 1 = 2

• 2 x 2 = 4

• 2 x 3 = 6

• 2 x 4 = 8

• 2 x 5 = 10

The multiples of 2 are: {2, 4, 6, 8, 10}

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Sometimes it is important to know what the lowest common number is between two different numbers.

For example, let's say you are having some friends over. You want everyone to get the same amount of snacks. You want to purchase chocolate bars that come in packages of 4 and drinks that comes in packages of 6.

How many packages of chocolate bars and drinks do you need to buy so that you have the same amount of each?

You could make a table and look for a common number.

Product	1 Package	2 Packages	3 Packages	4 Packages
Chocolate Bars	4	8	12	16
Drinks	6	12	18	24

Making a table like this can be time-consuming. Another way is to use the lowest common multiple (LCM).

Calculating the lowest common multiple is similar to the chart but much faster. All you do is list the multiples of each number until you find a common number. This common number is the lowest common multiple.

Let's look at the numbers 3 and 5. What is the lowest common multiple for 3 and 5?

Let's try another one:

 2 and 7

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