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Mathematician Teaches Easy Multiplication Trick Nearly No One Knows
How have I gone my whole life and not known this, what a cool trick.
Eduardo Gaskell
07.28.21

Here’s a neat little trick you can do with your hands. It’s super useful too, especially those who struggle with math (like me).

Sure we’ve got calculators programmed in phones but it’s still pretty nifty to learn.

Remember the times table? Here’s 6 to 10 using finger multiplication.

YouTube Screenshot
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YouTube Screenshot

Lift both hands so you can see them as shown in the video.

Number your fingers from 6 to 10 going from your thumb to your pinky.

This goes for both hands so 6 to 10 on the left, and same goes for your right hand.

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YouTube Screenshot

Seven times eight.

Rotate your left hand and focus on 7. That’s your pointer. With the other hand, rotate as well and line up the middle finger, which is 8, so that they meet. Make sure they touch.

Now count the free fingers below both that are touching.

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YouTube Screenshot

You’ll have two fingers on your left hand, and three on the right.

That’s a total of five fingers. What that becomes is the tens digit of your answer.

The free fingers above your touching pointer and index should be three on the left and two on the right.

Multiply those fingers. It comes out as 3 x 2 = 6. Now you get the answer. 56!

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YouTube Screenshot

This is a procedure you can use whenever you are multiplying two numbers between 6 and 10.

Cool right? It’s a rare skill nowadays so go ahead and show it off to family and friends!

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YouTube Screenshot

Here’s another example. Let’s do 6 x 9.

Rotate your left hand so that 6 can line up with your right hand’s 9. That should be your left thumb meeting your right ring finger.

Once again, count the number of fingers below the touching thumb and ring fingers.

Count them including the ones touching. Now you have one finger on the left and four on your right hand.

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YouTube Screenshot

That’s five fingers so it becomes 50.

Remember that the free fingers below the ones touching are always counted as tens. Now the free ones above the touching fingers should come out as 4 on the left and 1 on the right.

So when you multiply those, you get 4. Now take the 50 you got then add 4 to get 54. There’s your answer!

You’ll find that this procedure always works for anything 6 to 10. Let’s have one final example of 6 x 7.

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YouTube Screenshot

Rotate the left to get your thumb to meet your right hand’s pointer. Go ahead and count the fingers below that are touching, including those two.

So you have one on the left and two on the right.

That’s 3 fingers so it’s 30.

Count the fingers which are above the touching thumb and pointer. You get 4 on the left and 3 on the right. Multiply those so you get 4 x 3 = 12. Then add 30.

Pixabay
Source:
Pixabay

30 + 12 = 42. Same as 6 x 7 = 42.

Cool trick. This is one you can teach to the kids. If it makes them put away those phones for awhile, or peel their eyes off those computer screens, go for it.

When a phone’s battery dies, you’ve still got your fingers.

Watch and learn this simple trick below!

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

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