Is the least common multiple of a pair of numbers ever less than both numbers

well It never could be less than both numbers. the LCM of 2 numbers shd either be greater than the 2 numbers ... or the answer should be equal to either one of the numbers ...

lets see some examples to prove this conclusion:

now, lets find the LCM of 2 and 6 ... so if we do it ... we get the answer 6 ... which is ... as we said equal to one of the numbers

another example : 5 and 7 ... in this ... if we do it ... we get the LCM as 37 ... which is greater than both the numbers

another case where both the numbers are same ...

where we need to find the LCM of 7 and 7 ... the answer will be 7 itself ...