Question

At a military function, three cannons are fired at intervals of 12

Answer 1

Answer:

144 seconds

Step-by-step explanation:

To do solve this question, we must find the LCM (least common multiple) of 12, 16, and 18.

Let's start by prime factorizing (finding the prime factors) all the numbers.

$12\rightarrow3*4\rightarrow2*2*3$

$16\rightarrow4*4\rightarrow2*2*2*2$

$18\rightarrow2*9\rightarrow2*3*3$

Now, we must find the greatest quantity of each [prime] number and multiply them together to obtain the least common multiple.

Upon further evaluation of the [prime] factors, we can see that we need four 2s and two 3s. Therefore...

$2*2*2*2*3*3=2^4*3^2=16*9=144$

They will be fired together again after 144 seconds.