Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Determining the Least Common Multiple.

Determining the Least Common Multiple

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 6, 2021)

Remember your junior-high math classes? The teacher would write three or four numbers on the chalkboard and ask you to determine what larger number each of the numbers on the board could be a factor of. For instance, if the numbers were 2, 3,and 4, then the are all factors of the number 12. Thus, 12 is the least common multiple of those three numbers.

Things got really difficult when the teacher threw up six, seven, or ten numbers. Yikes! Fortunately, Excel makes calculating the least common multiple rather easy. All you need to do is put the numbers in a range of cells, and then use a formula like this:

=LCM(C20:C23)

In just a jiffy Excel returns a value that, sure enough, would have made that math teacher proud.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2306) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Determining the Least Common Multiple.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Resetting Toolbars to Their Default

Customize Word enough, and you may at some point want to set the toolbars back to their original condition. Here's how to ...

Discover More

Printing an Entire Workbook by Default

Need to print an entire workbook? It's as easy as adding a single line of code to your macros.

Discover More

Helpful Pop-up Screen Tips

Screen tips can be helpful to people reading your document on-screen. Using the technique described here, you can add ...

Discover More

Program Successfully in Excel! This guide will provide you with all the information you need to automate any task in Excel and save time and effort. Learn how to extend Excel's functionality with VBA to create solutions not possible with the standard features. Includes latest information for Excel 2024 and Microsoft 365. Check out Mastering Excel VBA Programming today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Using the XIRR Function

One of the financial worksheet functions provided in Excel is the XIRR function. This is used to figure out an internal ...

Discover More

Rounding by Powers of 10

Need to round a value by a power of 10? You can do it by using the ROUND function as described in this tip.

Discover More

Rounding to the Nearest $50

When preparing financial reports, it may make your data easier to understand if you round it to the nearest multiple, ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is eight more than 6?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.