Compute 246 × 52 in your head

Question

Solve in your head. What is 246 	imes 52? Aim: under 10 seconds.

Accepted Answer

Treat 52 as 50 + 2: 246 	imes 52 = 246 	imes 50 + 246 	imes 2. The 	imes 50 part is "half, then times 100": 246 	imes 50 = 123 	imes 100 = 12300. The correction is 246 	imes 2 = 492. Add them: 12300 + 492 = 12792. Takeaway. Break a factor near 50 into 50 \pm k and handle the small 	imes k piece separately: 	imes 50 is a halving, and the leftover 	imes 2 or 	imes 3 is trivial, so the whole product is one halving plus one easy add.

Compute 246 × 52 in your head

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