BEATCALC:  Beat the Calculator!

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Back to Calculation Tips & Tricks
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From the BEATCALC mailing list:
a weekly service from B. Lee Clay, archived here by the Math Forum.
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    Squaring a 2-digit number ending in 2

  1. Take a 2-digit number ending in 2.
  2. The last digit will be _ _ _ 4.
  3. Multiply the first digit by 4: the 2nd number will be
    the next to the last digit: _ _ X 4.
  4. Square the first digit and add the number carried from
    the previous step: X X _ _.

   Example:

  1. If the number is 52, the last digit is _ _ _ 4.
  2. 4 x 5 = 20 (four times the first digit): _ _ 0 4.
  3. 5 x 5 = 25 (square the first digit), 25 + 2 = 27 (add carry): 2 7 0 4.
  4. So 52 x 52 = 2704.

   See the pattern?

  1. For 82 x 82, the last digit is _ _ _ 4.
  2. 4 x 8 = 32 (four times the first digit): _ _ 2 4.
  3. 8 x 8 = 64 (square the first digit), 64 + 3 = 67 (add carry): 6 7 2 4.
  4. So 82 x 82 = 6724.


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14 January 1996
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