Find the least positive multiple of 7 which leaves a remainder of 4 when divided by any of 6, 9, 15 and 18.
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Let x be a positive integer that leaves a remainder of 4, when divided by 6, 9, 15 and 18.
Then x − 4 must be divisible by 6, 9, 15 and 18.
By the definition of lowest common multiple , we have x − 4 is a multiple of lcm ( 6 , 9 , 1 5 , 1 8 ) .
Since 6 = 2 × 3 , 9 = 3 2 , 1 5 = 3 × 5 , 1 8 = 2 × 3 2 , then lcm ( 6 , 9 , 1 5 , 1 8 ) = 2 × 3 2 × 5 = 9 0 .
In other words, the possible values of x − 4 are 9 0 , 1 8 0 , 2 7 0 , 3 6 0 , 4 5 0 , … .
Or equivalently, the possible values of x are 9 4 , 1 8 4 , 2 7 4 , 3 6 4 , 4 5 4 , … .
We want to find the minimum value of x that is also a multiple of 7. Looking through the list of numbers above shows that 3 6 4 is the number we are looking for.