Math Story : Identity Property And Zero Property Of Multiplication
The Multiplication Master Quiz
“This competition is very important for us, Squarho. We have to win this,” says Cirha. But what competition? What is the prize?
Oh! Uncle Math is organizing Multiplication Masters, a unique multiplication quiz. The winner gets seeds and plants which can be grown in the home. But why is this competition so important for Cirha?
Cirha always dreamt of building one of the largest gardens in Samper town, and she has been working towards it for several years now. But she has failed to achieve this because of a lack of resources. These winning plants will help her achieve her dream. So she is stressed yet prepared to win the competition.
Triho and Cirho are one team. Cirha and Squarho are another. It is the competition day, and the kids are all set. “The rules are simple. I will give you some problems. Press the buzzer if you have the answer. To find the answers, you can use various tools available here. Whoever gets the maximum right answers wins,” explains Uncle Math.
The kids are nervous. “Here is the first question. There are 3 groups of 5 marbles. How many marbles in total?” announces Uncle Math. Beep Beep! They hear the loud sound of the buzzer. Who has the answer? Triho’s team or Cirha’s team?
Triho’s team has the answer. “There are 15 marbles in total,” he answers confidently. “Correct answer!” says Uncle Math. Triho and Cirho are jumping out of joy. Squarho gets tensed.
“Here is your next question! There are 5 red flowers in one pot. So how many flowers in total?” questions Uncle Math. Cirha is about to press the buzzer, but she hears a loud buzzer again. Beep Beep! Triho has the answer again.
“There is 1 pot and it has 5 flowers. So total flowers are nothing but 5✖1. So there are 5 flowers in total,” says Cirho confidently. They are right again. “Correct answer!” says Uncle Math. The score is 2-0. Cirha is still calm and optimistic.
“Cirha! We need to be faster. We will lose otherwise,” says tensed Squarho. “Do not worry! Even if we lose, this process of solving and answering will help us master the concept of multiplication at least. Yes, let us be faster this time,” she says.
“Here is the next question. There are 55 marbles in one bag. How many marbles in total?” says Uncle Math.
Immediately he hears the buzzer. Beep Beep! Triho has pressed the buzzer again. Does he have the correct answer again?
“The answer is 1,” says Triho overconfidently. Oops! He is wrong. The question passes to Cirha’s team. Cirha is finally happy. “The answer is 55,” she says nervously. “Correct answer!” says Uncle Math. The score is 2-1. Squarho smiles.
“Wow! Whenever we multiplied any number by 1, we got the same number. I didn’t know this,” says Squarho. He is a good observer indeed. “Exactly. Remember this trick to multiply quickly,” says Uncle Math, and he moves to the next question.
“Here is the next question. There are 5 plates with no cookies. How many cookies in total?” asks Uncle Math. There is no buzzer heard. “This is a tricky question,” thinks Triho. Cirha is thinking too. And suddenly, Beep Beep! sounds like the buzzer. Who is it?
Woohoo! It looks like Cirha has the answer. She says, “ There are 5 plates but no cookies in them. That means 5✖0. Since there is nothing on the plates. There are 0 cookies.” Is she right?
“Correct answer!” announces Uncle Math. Hurray! Cirha and Squarho jump out of joy. The score is 2-2. It is time for the next question.
“Remember, this is the final question. Whoever gets it right wins. Here we go: There are 75 books in the library and the librarian is selling them at ᵮ 0 price. So how much money should one give to buy them?” asks Uncle Math. The kids are puzzled looking at such a big number. Cirha is biting her nails. Triho is scratching his head.
Beep Beep! “The answer is 75,” says Triho.
Oops! He is wrong again. The question passes to Cirha’s team now. Squarho is elated.
Thinking hard, Cirha answers, “One should pay ᵮ 0 to buy the books!” Uncle Math stays quiet for some time. But Cirha wants to know if she is right or wrong? “Correct answer!” announces Dr Science. Cirha and Squarho jump with joy and hug each other. They have won the Multiplication Master quiz. The final score is 2-3.
Triho and Cirho show good sportsmanship. They congratulate them and celebrate their win. “But Cirha, how did you find the right answer? I was so confused,” asks Triho. “How multiplying 0 with 5 gave away 0 as the answer, similarly this time also I made connections and realized multiplying 0 with any number will give 0 as the answer,” she explains.
“Exactly. How multiplying 1 with any number gives the same number, similarly multiplying 0 with any number gives 0 as the answer. No matter how big or small the number is,” explains Uncle Math.
Cirha gets the plants and seeds. She is thrilled and enthusiastic to plant them in her garden. Her positive outlook toward the game made her win. The kids not only learnt two new math tricks but also learnt to stay positive always. The Multiplication Master was full of lessons and takeaways.
We Learnt That…
- Any number multiplied by 1, gives the same result as the number itself.
- Any number multiplied by 0, gives 0 as the result.
- We should always focus on the process of any action rather than just the end result.
- It is our response to winning or losing that makes us a winner or loser.
Let’s Discuss
- What quiz was Uncle Math conducting?
- Why was the competition important to Cirha?
- What happens when we multiply a number by 1 and 0?
- “Even if we lose, this process of solving and answering will help us master the concept of multiplication at least” What does this say about Cirha?
- We showed good sportsmanship by congratulating Cirha and Squarho. Have you done this before?
Please refer this guide by Fun2Do Labs for teaching properties of multiplication to kids :
