Project D.E.E.P. - Dorchester Educational Enrichment Program - Project D.E.E.P. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational program, which operates through collaborations with the City of Boston and financial support from the community and area business.

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Congratulations to Mrs. Helen Rae, one of Project D.E.E.P.'s excellent exam prep teachers! Last week Helen received the inaugural Teacher of the Year Award from the Pope John Paul II Catholic Academy. Helen has been teaching in the parochial school system for many years and joined the Project D.E.E.P. staff as one of our fifth-grade teachers three years ago. We look forward to having her back for a fourth year this fall. Great job, Helen!

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Did you know you can easily multiply 86 x 74 in your head?

The answer is 6,364.

Here's how you do it:

Any time you multiply two numbers that are equidistant (the same distance) from another number (86 and 74 are each 6 away from 80), then all you have to do is multiply the middle number (80 in this case) by itself and then subtract the distance (6) multiplied by itself (36). In our example problem you would do the following:

1.) 80 x 80 = 6,400
2.) 6,400 - (6 x 6) = 6,400 - 36
3.) 6,400 - 36 = 6,364

Here are a few other examples:

9 x 11 = ___

1.) 10 x 10 = 100    use 10 because it is in the middle of 9 and 11
2.) 100 - (1 x 1) = 100 - 1    subtract the distance times itself (9 and 11 are each 1
      away from 10)
3.) 100 - 1 = 99

42 x 38 = ___

1.) 40 x 40 = 1,600    use 40 because it is in the middle of 42 and 38
2.) 1,600 - (2 x 2) = 1,600 - 4     subtract the distance times itself (42 and 38 are
      each 2 away from 40)
3.) 1,600 - 4 = 1,596

67 x 53 = ___

1.) 60 x 60 = 3,600    use 60 because it is in the middle of 67 and 53
2.) 3,600 - (7 x 7) = 3,600 - 49     subtract the distance times itself (67 and 53
      are each 7 away from 60)
3.) 3,600 - 49 = 3,551

Try this one on your own: 24 x 16

A final note: This trick doesn't just work with numbers that are equidistant from a number ending in zero, as in the problems above, but these are the easiest examples of problems where you could use this trick. The reason for this is that numbers ending in zero are the easiest to multiply by themselves (e.g. 60 x 60 = 3,600; 90 x 90 = 8,100; etc.). However, you could use the trick when this situation doesn't come up. For instance, look at 8 x 16. Both of those numbers are 4 away from 12. So multiply 12 by itself (you should get 144) and then subtract (4 x 4). You'll end up with 144 - 16 = 128. Pretty easy, huh?

I hope you're learning some neat tricks yourself (and history lessons too)!

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You might need to fill out one of these forms to complete registration for our tutoring program. Or you might just want to download some of these forms for the information they provide. Take a look:

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Looking for help in connecting with some of the private schools in the area? Scroll through this list for the school you're looking for:

Looking to connect with any of our other partners? This list here includes links to some of our other friends (like the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dorchester) and to some helpful places you might need to visit (like test registration websites).