Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. Multiplication of two numbers is easy, right? At primary school we learn how to do long multiplication like this: Methods ...

19 is only 1 away from 20, so you prefer to start by multiplying 20 times 5, which equals 100. Then we need to take away a squadron of 5, because there are actually only 19 squadrons, not 20. 100 take ...

This article reveals a simple and effective shortcut for multiplying numbers that end in 5. Perfect for students, it breaks down the trick for both single-digit and double-digit numbers ending in 5, ...

Methods similar to this go back thousands of years, at least to the ancient Sumerians and Egyptians. But is this really the best way to multiply two big numbers together? Around 1956, the famous ...

Mathematicians have reportedly discovered a new way of multiplying two numbers together. The new technique is for really large numbers, and if it passes a peer-review, could be the fastest possible ...

This summer, battle lines were drawn over a simple math problem: 8 ÷ 2(2 + 2) = ? If you divide 8 by 2 first, you get 16, but if you multiply 2 by (2 + 2) first, you get 1. So, which answer is right?

Forget your times tables – mathematicians have found a new, faster way to multiply two numbers together. The method, which works only for whole numbers, is a landmark result in computer science. “This ...

Most people know just one way to multiply two large numbers by hand. Typically, they learned it in elementary school. They’re often surprised to find that there are a variety of ways to do ...

It's possible to solve some multiplication problems in your head. But sometimes it can help to use other methods instead. These include using visual aids, such as an array or place counters, or by ...