Multiply Up to

20X20 In Your Head

In just FIVE minutes you should learn to quickly multiply up to 20x20 in your
head. With this trick, you will be able to multiply any two numbers from 11 to 19 in
your head quickly, without the use of a calculator.
I will assume that you know your multiplication table reasonably well up to 10x10.
Try this:

Take 15 x 13 for an example.

Always place the larger number of the two on top in your mind.
Then draw the shape of Africa mentally so it covers the 15 and the 3 from the
13 below. Those covered numbers are all you need.
First add 15 + 3 = 18
Add a zero behind it (multiply by 10) to get 180.
Multiply the covered lower 3 x the single digit above it the "5" (3x5= 15)
Add 180 + 15 = 195.

That is It! Wasn't that easy? Practice it on paper first!

The 11 Rule

You likely all know the 10 rule (to multiply by 10, just add a 0 behind the
number) but do you know the 11 rule? It is as easy! You should be able to do this
one in you head for any two digit number. Practice it on paper first!
To multiply any two digit number by 11:

For this example we will use 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
Practice it on paper first!

Square a 2 Digit Number Ending in 5

For this example we will use 25

Take the "tens" part of the number (the 2 and add 1)=3
Multiply the original "tens" part of the number by the new number (2x3)
Take the result (2x3=6) and put 25 behind it. Result the answer 625.

Try a few more 75 squared ... = 7x8=56 ... put 25 behind it is 5625.
55 squared = 5x6=30 ... put 25 behind it ... is 3025. Another easy one! Practice it
on paper first!

Multiply By 4
To quickly multiply by four, double the number and then double it again.
Often this can be done in your head.

Multiply By 5
To quickly multiply by 5, divide the number in two and then multiply it by 10.
Often this can be done quickly in your head.

There are thousands of languages in the world today. Yes, thousands! Besides English, you might already speak Spanish and you
know that different countries speak their own languages. But within a country, there can still be tribes in remote areas that
speak a language of their own. These people need a translator who knows both languages in order to communicate with the
world outside their village.

We have no idea how many languages have been spoken in the history of civilization. Archaeologists continue to find artifacts of
lost civilizations from thousands of years ago. Consider Egyptian hieroglyphics where the Egyptians used pictures instead of
letters as their written language. Archaeologists are still trying to decipher what these pictures mean.

The Romans left us writings in their language, which is Latin. One interesting fact about Latin is that no one really knows how to
pronounce the words like the Romans did. People today agree upon how we should pronounce the words but there aren't any
Romans left to teach us how they pronounced the words themselves.

Throughout history every separate group of people have devised their own language. It's only been in recent decades that there
has been so much travel around the world and people from different parts of the world are talking to each other like never
before. Perhaps some day, everyone on earth will speak a common language.

But the title above claims that math is the only true universal language! How can that be? Right now you should know about two
ways to represent numbers, as Roman numerals and as Arabic numbers. Plus, people in other countries use different symbols for
numbers. With all these different symbols, how can math be a universal language?

Math is a universal language because the principles and foundations of math are the same everywhere around the world. Ten plus
ten equals twenty if you write it as Arabic numerals 10 + 10 = 20 or Roman numerals X + X = XX. The concept of 20 items is the
same no matter where you are in the world.

And, what about geometry? A circle is always a circle and its circumference is always calculated the same way no matter where
you are in the world. The same holds true for any other geometric figure like triangles, squares or rectangles.

We like to visit other countries to experience new scenery, new foods and a different culture. It's fun to watch documentaries
about festivals that we don't have in North America. There is a great deal of cultural diversity in the world that we can enjoy and
celebrate. But math is one thing that is common to everyone.

Different countries use different units of measurement; for example, the United States and the United Kingdom use inches and
feet while the rest of Europe uses metric measurements of centimeters and meters. But no matter what the units are, everyone
must measure the house that they are building. Houses everywhere, whether they are square, rectangular or round, are built
using the same mathematical equations.

The principles of probability are the same everywhere as well. The chance of rain in Guatemala might be greater than the
chance of rain in the Sahara desert but probability works the same way. People around the world have different genetics but the
probability of passing on genes to their children follows the same mathematical formulas.

It is easy to see that no matter how diverse different cultures are, math is one common language across the world. Take a few
minutes to make a list of other ways that math is the universal language.

Logic Games And Riddles

Riddle 1)
How can you add eight 8's to get the number 1,000? (only use
addition)

The key to this math riddle is realizing that the one place must be
zero.
888 +88 +8 +8 +8 =1,000
2) Two Fathers and Two Sons Riddle
Two fathers and two sons sat down to eat eggs for breakfast. They ate
exactly three eggs, each person had an egg. The riddle is for you to
explain how

one of the 'fathers' is also a grandfather. Therefore the other father is

both a son and a father to the grandson.
In other words, the one father is both a son and a father
3) Digit Frequency
Part I. What digit is the most frequent between the numbers 1 and
1,000 (inclusive)?
To solve this riddle you don't want to manually do all of the math but
rather try to figure out a pattern.
The most common digit is '1.' Can you figure out why? No hints until
you try the next riddle because the next riddle is closely tied to this
one.
Part II. What digit is the least frequent between the numbers 1 and
1,000?
Explanations for both riddles
The digits 0 through 9 all follow the same pattern there is exactly 1
occurrence of each digit for every ten numbers.

For instance the digit 2 appears once between 10 and 19, at 12.
And 2 appears once between, 30 and 39 at 32.
However, each of the digits 1 through 9 also appear in other
numbers in the tens and hundreds place
Again, let's look at 2 which appears in 20,21,22, 23, etc.. as well
as 200,201, 202,203..

So to figure out how to answer the first riddle you had to see
what distinguishes the number 1? Only that we are including
1,000 which would be the first '1' in a new series of ten! In other
words, the digit 1 only has a single extra occurrence (301
occurrences) compared to 2 or 3 or 9 which each have exactly
300 occurrences.
The reason that zero has the least (BY FAR at only 192 occurrences) is
because zero does not have any equivalents to 22, 33, 44, 222, 3333
etc..

4) Three Guys at A Hotel Riddle

Three guys rent a hotel room for the night. When they get to the hotel
they pay the $30 fee, then go up to their room. Soon the bellhop
brings up their bags and gives the lawyers back $5 because the hotel
was having a special discount that weekend. So the three lawyers
decide to each keep one of the $5 dollars and to give the bellhop a $2
tip. However, when they sat down to tally up their expenses for the
weekend the could not explain the following details:
Each one of them had originally paid $10 (towards the initial $30),
then each got back $1 which meant that they each paid $9. Then they
gave the bellhop a $2 tip. HOWEVER, 3 $9 + $2 = $29
The guys couldn't figure out what happened to the other dollar.
After all, the three paid out $30 but could only account for $29.
Can you determine what happened?
There are many ways of explaining/thinking about this truly brain
bending riddle! It all boils down to the fact that the lawyers's math is
incorrect. They did NOT spend $9 3 + $2.
They spent exactly $27 dollars. $25 for the room and $2 for the tip.
Remember they got exactly $3, in total back.
Another way to think about the answer to this riddle is to just pretend
that the bellhop refunded $3 to the lawyers (rather than giving them
$5 and receiving $2 back). If the lawyers get $3 back and each takes
$1. They they spent exactly $27 dollars.
5) Foreign Country Riddle
In a certain country of 5 = 3. If the same proportion holds, what is
the value of 1/3 of 10 ?

The answer is 4

6) The Merchant
A merchant can place 8 large boxes or 10 small boxes into a carton for
shipping. In one shipment, he sent a total of 96 boxes. If there are
more large boxes than small boxes, how many cartons did he ship?
11 cartons total
7 large boxes (7 * 8 = 56 boxes)
4 small boxes (4 10 = 40 boxes
11 total cartons and 96 boxes
7) Crossing the River
A farmer is trying to cross a river. He is taking with him a rabbit,
carrots and a fox, and he has a small raft. He can only bring 1 item a
time across the river because his raft can only fit either the rabbit, the
carrots or the fox. How does he cross the river. (You can assume that the fox does
not eat the rabbit if the man is present, you can also assume that the fox and the rabbit are not trying to escape
and run away)

The key to solving this riddle is realizing that you have to take the
rabbit over first and the switch the fox with the rabbit. See step 2.

Shore

Other Side

Carrots
Fox

Rabbit

Step 1) Take the rabbit to the other side

Step 2) Go back and get the Fox and switch it with the Rabbit
**The key here is that the carrots and the rabbit are not being
left alone.

Shore

Other Side

Carrots
Rabbit

Fox

(Not left alone)

Shore

Other Side

Rabbit

Fox
Carrots

Shore

Other Side

Step 3) Take the carrots across.

Step 4) Go back and get the rabbit

Rabbit
Fox
Carrots

8) Three Brothers on a Farm

Three brothers live in a farm. They agreed to buy new seeds: Adam
and Ben would go and Charlie stayed to protect fields. Ben bought 75
sacks of wheat in the market whereas Adam bought 45 sacks. At
home, they split the sacks equally. Charlie had paid 1400 dollars for
the wheat. How much dollars did Ben and Adam get of the sum,
considering equal split of the sacks?

Every farmer's part is 1/3(45+75) = 40 sacks.

Charlie paid $1400 for 40 sacks, then 1 sack costs $1400/40 =
$35/sack.
Adam got $35*(45-40)=35*5 = $175.
Ben got $35*(75-40)=35*35 = $1225.
Answer: Ben $1225, Adam $175
9) The Insurance Salesman
An insurance salesman walk up to house and knocks on the door. A
woman answers, and he asks her how many children she has and how
old they are. She says I will give you a hint. If you multiply the 3
children's ages, you get 36. He says this is not enough information. So
she gives a him 2nd hint. If you add up the children's ages, the sum is
the number on the house next door. He goes next door and looks at
the house number and says this is still not enough information. So she
says she'll give him one last hint which is that her oldest of the 3 plays
piano.
Why would he need to go back to get the last hint after seeing the
number on the house next door?
Because the sum of their ages ( the number on the house) is
ambiguous and could refer to more than 1 trio of factors.
Answer: { 2, 2, 9}
If you list out the trio of factors that multiply to 36 and their sums,
you get :

1 1 36 = 38
1 2 18 = 21
1 3 12 = 16
1 4 9 = 14
6 6 1 = 13
2 2 9 = 13
2 3 6 = 11
3 3 4 = 10

Since the number on the house next door is not enough information
there must be more than 1 factor trio that sums up to it, leaving two
possibilities: { 6, 6, 1} , {2, 2, 9} . When she says her 'oldest' you
know it can not be {6,6,1} since she would have two 'older' sons not
an 'oldest'.