js-coding-challenges

Challenge 12: Find the Smallest Common Multiple

Write a function that takes two numbers as input and returns the smallest common multiple of those numbers. The smallest common multiple is the smallest number that is divisible by both of the input numbers. For example, the smallest common multiple of 3 and 4 is 12.

Write a function called smallestCommonMultiple that takes two numbers as its parameters and returns the smallest common multiple of those numbers.

Answer

function smallestCommonMultiple(num1, num2) {
  // Find the larger and smaller numbers
  const larger = Math.max(num1, num2);
  const smaller = Math.min(num1, num2);

  // Start with the larger number and check if it's divisible by the smaller number
  let current = larger;
  while (current % smaller !== 0) {
    current += larger;
  }

  return current;
}

Answer Explanation

The function takes two arguments num1 and num2, which are the numbers to find the smallest common multiple for. Here’s what the function does:

• First, it finds the larger and smaller numbers by using the Math.max and Math.min functions.
• The function then initializes a variable current to the value of the larger number. It then loops while current is not divisible by the smaller number. Inside the loop, it adds the value of the larger number to current. When the loop exits, current will be the smallest number that is divisible by both num1 and num2.
• Finally, the function returns the value of current.

Here’s an example usage of the function:

console.log(smallestCommonMultiple(3, 4)); // 12
console.log(smallestCommonMultiple(6, 9)); // 18
console.log(smallestCommonMultiple(5, 7)); // 35

In this example, the function correctly calculates the smallest common multiple of the input numbers and returns the correct result.

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