Happy Memorial Day. Hope it is a good one with friends and or family.

wes

Multiplication Finger Tricks

Some of us just need some help from our fingers.  Hopefully this is for you.

Multiplying on fingers

Yes, it can be done. Multiplying on fingers is not as easy as adding or subtracting with the fingers, and you do need first of all to know how to multiply low numbers by 2, 3, 4 and 5. But most children who have difficulties with multiplication have problems with the 6, 7 or 8 times table.
It's a bit complicated to remember what to do, and some children would find it more trouble than it's worth! However a child who learns kinesthetically and has difficulty remembering anything by rote would probably grasp this quickly. So do try this with your children, even if it seems highly complex from your adult point of view.

Here's what you do:

Hold your hands horizontally in front of you, with your elbows sticking out, palms facing away from you, tips of middle fingers touching. (That's the hardest part to describe in text!)
Mentally (or with marker pen) number the thumbs as 6, index fingers as 7, middle fingers 8, ring fingers 9, little fingers 10. And define the thumbs as honorary fingers for the purposes of this 'manual calculator'.
To do any multiplication, from 6x6 through to 9x9, touch two fingers together which represent the numbers you want to multiply. For instance, for 7x8, touch index finger of one hand to middle finger of the other.

Now comes the tricky part with finger multiplication

The two touching fingers and all the ones nearer to you than the ones touching are the 'tens' group. In the 7x8 example you have five: both thumbs, both index fingers and one middle finger are in that group, so the answer contains 5 tens.
The remaining number of fingers on each hand - in this case 3 on one hand and 2 on the other - must be multiplied together to give the 'units' of the answer. 3x2 = 6.
The answer to 7x8 is five tens and six units, 50+6 = 56.
It sounds horrendous, but some children love it and it really works.

One minor point about multiplying on fingers

Sometimes the 'units' add up to more than 10, in which case the ten must be 'carried' and added onto the other tens. For instance, if you multiply 6x7, you will have 3 tens (2 thumbs and one finger), with 3 and 4 fingers respectively remaining, and 3x4 is 12. So either add 12 to 30 and don't worry about it being units, or carry the 10 mentally and add 40 to 2 - either way you get 42.
It works for every multiplication from 6x6 to 10x10 (not that you'd want such a complex method for multiplying by 10 - if you think you do, try reading the page on multiplication tricks). 

Clicking on "page on multiplication tricks will take you to the page were this came from, with more math tips and help.


Wes

Multiplication Tricks

 Multiplication Tricks

Multiply by 2:   Add the number to itself

Anything multiplied by two must give an even number:

in other words, the last digit must be 2, 4, 6, 8 or 0.

Multiply by 3: It All Adds Up

Let's see if 3 has any special properties.

4 x 3 = 12     1 + 2 = 3

5 x 3 = 15     1 + 5 = 6

6 x 3 = 18     1 + 8 = 9

7 x 3 = 21     2 + 1 = 3

When you multiply by 3, the digits of the answer add up to 3, 6, or 9.

You can't really use this to multiply faster. But it is a quick way to check your work.

Multiply By 4

To quickly multiply by four, double the number and then double it again.

Show

             4

          x 3

           12

Cheer: 1, 2, 3, 4, all went marching out the door. (See 7 x 8)

4 x 4 = 16.  you must be 16 to drive a 4x4.

Multiply by 5: It's All 5s and 0s

Let's look at a few facts about 5.  If you multiply a number by 5 it must end in 5 or 0.

2 x 5 = 10

3 x 5 = 15

4 x 5 = 20

5 x 5 = 25

6 x 5 = 30

7 x 5 = 35

See a pattern? If we multiply by an even number, the ones digit is 0. If the number's odd, the ones digit is 5. This trick is great to check your multiplication by 5.

Multiply by 6:

If you multiply 6 by an even number, they both end in the same digit.  

                      Example: 6×2=12, 6×4=24, 6×6=36, etc

The rule doesn’t work for 6 times an odd number such as 6 x 3 = 18

Rhyme:  6 times 8 went on a date and didn’t come home ‘til they were 48.

              6 times 9 is 54—shut your mouth and say no more.

              6 x 6 is thirsty sixes

Multiply by 7:

Rhyme:

7x7 is San Francisco 49ers.

Five - six - seven - eight, Fifty-six is seven times eight.

Multiply by 8:

8 x 8 is Nintendo 64

Multiply by 9: It All Adds Up to 9

Have you ever heard of the Amazing Facts of Nine? Let's  take a look

.2 x 9 = 18   1 + 8 = 9

3 x 9 = 27    2 + 7 = 9

4 x 9 = 36    3 + 6 = 9

5 x 9 = 45    4 + 5 = 9

6 x 9 = 54    5 + 4 = 9

7 x 9 = 63     6 + 3 = 9

8 x 9 = 72     7 + 2 = 9

9 x 9 = 81     8 + 1 = 9

See the pattern? When we multiply a single-digit number times 9:

- The tens digit is one less than our original number.

- The tens digit plus the ones digit equals nine!

Multiply by 10: Just add 0

The easiest number to multiply by is 10. Just “add 0.”

3 x 10 = 30

140 x 10 = 1400

Multiply by 11:  up to 9x11:

 just repeat the digit (Example: 4x11 = 44)  

 for 10x11 to 18x11:  

 For this example we will use 11 x  54.

• Separate the two digits in you mind (5__4).
• Notice the hole between them!
• Add the 5 and the 4 together (5+4=9)
• Put the resulting 9 in the hole 594. That's it! 11 x 54=594

The only thing tricky to remember is that if the result of the addition is greater than 9, you only put the "ones" digit in the hole and carry the "tens" digit from the addition. For example 11 x 57 ... 5__7 ... 5+7=12 ... put the 2 in the hole and add the 1 from the 12 to the 5 in to get 6 for a result of 627 ... 11 x 57 = 627

Multiply by 12:

Multiply the number by 10 then by 2 and add them together.  For example  12 x 9 = ?

Multiply 9 by 10 = 90 and Multiply 9 by 2 = 18 then add 90 + 18 = 108 so 12 x 9 = 108

Times Tables

I am thinking that you kid might not like times tables that much.  Well unfortunately they are not alone.  I the thing that will help or hurt your kid in school, mostly from 3rd grade on is how well they know their times tables.  Here is a game that they might like to play.

If you can get some 12 sided dice (regular dice will work as well, but 12 sided will be best because that is what they need to know, times tables up to 12).  Here are some ideas.  These big ones might be real fun.





Just some Ideas.  Wal-mart defiantly would have the 6 sided dice, it a start.  (that is if you don't already have dice.)

If I could name one thing that would help your child the most with math it would be their times tables.






Next time Multiplication tricks


Wes

Our Attidtude about math.

Do you like math?  The chances of you saying yes is very slim.  Most of us have grown up not liking math and hate having it for homework. 

We grow up saying
"I am not good at math, I hate it."   So, we go through school not liking it and not doing very good at it, BECAUSE we think we aren't very good.  Why do we think this way, well what is your parents attitude about math.  Do you remember what they used to say about it.  It is most probally the exact same thing that you had said, or you do say. 

Our kids grow up thinking about math the exact same way that we grew up thinking and think now.  So If you would like to have your kids not have that attitude toward math, leave those feellings somewhere else when you are around your kids.  

Be possitive about homework and math then your kids will have the same fellings and attitude about their homework and math.

Great learning to you.

Wes