The Rule for 8: Subtract from 10 and Double

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The rule for multiplying by 8 is: Subtract the last digit from 10 and double it. For middle digits, subtract from 9, double it, and add the neighbor. For the first digit, subtract 2.

Example: Multiply 234 by 8

  1. Digit 4 (Rightmost): (104)×2=12(10 - 4) \times 2 = 12. Write 2, carry 1.
  2. Digit 3 (Middle): ((93)×2)+4 (neighbor)+1 (carry)=12+4+1=17((9 - 3) \times 2) + 4~(\text{neighbor}) + 1~(\text{carry}) = 12 + 4 + 1 = 17. Write 7, carry 1.
  3. Digit 2 (Middle): ((92)×2)+3 (neighbor)+1 (carry)=14+3+1=18((9 - 2) \times 2) + 3~(\text{neighbor}) + 1~(\text{carry}) = 14 + 3 + 1 = 18. Write 8, carry 1.
  4. Final Digit: (22)+1 (carry)=1(2 - 2) + 1~(\text{carry}) = 1. Write 1.

The final answer is 1,872.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How is the rule for 8 related to the rule for 9?

Both rules are based on subtraction. The rule for 9 is 'subtract from 9/10 and add the neighbor.' The rule for 8 takes this a step further: you subtract from 9/10, *double* the result, and then add the neighbor. The doubling accounts for the difference between 9 and 8.

Why do you subtract from 10 for the first digit, but 9 for the others?

This is a standard technique in these subtraction-based methods to handle 'borrowing' implicitly. Subtracting the first (units) digit from 10 is the standard operation. Subtracting all subsequent digits from 9 accounts for the 'borrow' that would have occurred from that position.

The final step 'neighbor - 2' seems different. Why?

This is a simplified final step. The full rule would be to add two leading zeros and apply the 'subtract from 9, double, add neighbor' rule to the first leading zero. That calculation simplifies to just taking the neighbor of that zero (which is the first digit of the original number) and subtracting 2.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How is the rule for 8 related to the rule for 9?

Both rules are based on subtraction. The rule for 9 is 'subtract from 9/10 and add the neighbor.' The rule for 8 takes this a step further: you subtract from 9/10, *double* the result, and then add the neighbor. The doubling accounts for the difference between 9 and 8.

Why do you subtract from 10 for the first digit, but 9 for the others?

This is a standard technique in these subtraction-based methods to handle 'borrowing' implicitly. Subtracting the first (units) digit from 10 is the standard operation. Subtracting all subsequent digits from 9 accounts for the 'borrow' that would have occurred from that position.

The final step 'neighbor - 2' seems different. Why?

This is a simplified final step. The full rule would be to add two leading zeros and apply the 'subtract from 9, double, add neighbor' rule to the first leading zero. That calculation simplifies to just taking the neighbor of that zero (which is the first digit of the original number) and subtracting 2.