January 28, 2010
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photo by pshutterbug
I don’t know about you, but when I memorized addition and multiplication facts as a kid, it seemed that the 6′s, 7′s, and 8′s always seemed the hardest to remember.
Well, here’s a fun trick to help remember the 6′s:
- When multiplying 6 by an EVEN number (sorry, it doesn’t work on the odds), the answer ends in the same final digit.
- Some examples: 6 x 2 = 12, 6 x 6 = 36, 6 x 8 = 48, 6 x 12 = 72 and yes, even 6 x 472 = 2,832 if you really wanted to know.
Hope that helps a few of you out there. Do you have any math tricks that helped you memorize the facts?
P.S. Here are some previous tips and math reviews:
- Tips and Tricks for 9′s
- Timez Attack
- Dojo Math
- Favorite Math Curriculum
- Memorize in Minutes: the Times Tables
Posted under Math Curriculum
The reason this works is because 6 times any name is the same as 5 time the number plus 1 times the number:
6 * x = (5 * x) + (1 * x)
5 times an even number will always end in zero, so the ones diget will always be x. (for single digit multiplication.)
Thanks for the great explanation Henry – I hadn’t thought it all the way through.