'Genius' way to solve multiplication sums leaves parents and kids baffled

For many schoolchildren and adults alike, maths isn't something that comes naturally. It's often cited as one of the subjects which schoolkids dislike the most, and although some are whizzes at algebraand geometry, others really struggle to grasp things like fractions and long division.

But maths is also a subject that is very strict in terms of whether answers are right or wrong. Unlike in English exams, where the answer can be open to interpretation, 6 x 6 will always be 36, no matter what tools you use to get there. This means you can use sneaky tricks and hacks to get to the right answer with ease, and you'll still get top marks.

Whether you're helping your young child out with their maths homework or trying to solve a tricky sum yourself, one maths genius on social media has shared a quick way you can solve almost any multiplication sum - even if it seems scary.

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In a video shared by the Sums of Anarchy account on TikTok, Dominique Miranda looked at a viral video of two schoolchildren solving the sum 97 x 94. For most people, just looking at that sum is enough to make us want to give up, but the children are able to solve it with ease.

One of the children uses the traditional long multiplication method that most UK schoolchildren are taught, but the other uses a strange method which raised a few eyebrows - and she solved it twice as fast as the first child.

The solution to the sum is 9,118, and according to Dominique, the much faster method does work if you know how to do it.

First, you must work out how far each of the numbers is from 100. So in the example given, 97 is three less than 100, and 94 is six less than 100. You then need to take one difference away from the other number. This means either take six away from 97, or three away from 94. Either way you do it, you end up with 91.

That 91 becomes the first two digits of your answer - which should end up as 9,118.

For the other two digits, you simply need to multiply the differences. This means you need to do 3 x 6, which is 18. Take this onto the end of the 91 from earlier, and you get your answer - 9,118.

This method also works for numbers over 100. In another example, Dominique showed you can work out 103 x 104 by first seeing that 103 is three more than 100, while 104 is four more. Since the numbers are over 100, this time we need to add one difference to the other number, either way giving us 107.

So you start with 107, multiply three and four together to get 12, and your final answer is 10,712.

There is one slight hiccup with this method, and that's the second part of your answer must be two digits. In the example of 98 x 99, you start with 97 as the first part of your answer, but 2 x 1 is only two. The answer is not 972, though. Instead, you need to stick a zero in front of your second answer - giving you 9,702.

Dominique said: "Techniques like this are often dismissed as silly tricks that don't always work, but that's slander! It does always work, it just doesn't always make the multiplication easier. The further our numbers are away from 100, the harder it gets, but that's no different to any other method.

"Not only is it mathematically sound, but compared to the unintuitive way many of us learn long multiplication, an exploration into this technique can be really helpful in understanding the concept."

Commenters on the video were blown away by the technique. Many said it would save them if they ever found themselves without a calculator, while others said it could help their children understand complicated sums a bit better.

One person said: "I really like this, but fortunately for me, I have a calculator in my pocket at all times these days." Another added: "As someone with dyscalculia, thank you SO much." A third wrote: "I may not have hated math if I'd learned this stuff."