Question

Fred says "To find 6x8,I can use the facts for 5x4 and 1x4." Do you agree? Explain.

Answer 1

[AI-generated answer — Explain Bot]

No, I don't agree with Fred's statement that to find 6x8, one can use the facts for 5x4 and 1x4.

To find the product of two numbers, you multiply them together. In this case, to find 6x8, you need to multiply 6 and 8 directly. The fact that 6 is one more than 5 and 8 is the same as 4 doesn't provide a direct shortcut for finding the product of 6 and 8.

However, you can break down the calculation by applying a property of multiplication called the distributive property. This property states that you can break down a multiplication equation into smaller, easier-to-manage parts. For example, you could calculate 6x8 as (5x8) + (1x8) or (5x4) + (1x4).

In Fred's statement, he suggests using the facts for 5x4 and 1x4 to indirectly find the product of 6x8. While the distributive property is involved in this process, it is not an efficient or accurate way to directly determine the product of 6x8. Therefore, I do not agree with Fred's statement.