The 6174 Trick

Math Skills: This trick is good for helping students practice four-digit subtraction.
What You Need: Piece of paper and pencil

Performing the Math Trick

Have someone choose any four-digit number. (At least one digit should be different from the
other digits)

Arrange the digits in order from largest to smallest and write that number down.

Example

The person chooses the number 4,081

Rearrange digits in order from largest to smallest:

8410

Now have them reverse the digits of this number and subtract it from the last number they wrote
down.

After they subtract and get the answer, have them arrange the numbers from greatest to least if
they are not already.

Now have them subtract the reverse of this number from itself (same procedure as above).

Keep repeating these same steps and they will soon arrive at the magic number: 6174!

Not at the Magic Number yet, so they keep going.

And just like magic.....they will reach the Magic Number! (See below)

Pretty Cool! It works every time.

Note: It might be a good idea to make sure they are doing the subtractions correctly, otherwise they
may not get to the Magic Number.

Cool Math Trick

Ready for another cool math trick! Well heres a pretty slick mind reading trick (from
"Mathemania" by Raymond Blum) that I think youre gonna love.

A spectator randomly picks four numbers.

The Math Magician predicts the sum of the
four numbers even before the trick begins!

What You Need: Paper, Pencil, Calculator

Preparation: Copy the chart below on a piece of paper on a piece of paper.
How To Perform: Tell your friend that you are going to make a prediction. Write down the
following on a piece of paper without letting them see what you are writing:

The sum of the four numbers you choose will be 34!

Fold the prediction up a few times and set it aside. Hand your friend the chart you made. Tell
them to circle any number on the chart. See example below.

Next have then cross off all of the numbers in the same column and row of the number that
they circled. See below.

Now ask them to circle any number on the chart that is not circled or crossed out. After they
circle their number, have them repeat the same process as before (cross off all of the numbers
in the same column and row of the number that they circled.)

Then tell them to repeat these same directions until they have four numbers circled and all
other numbers are crossed out. After they circle the fourth number, there should be no more
numbers to cross out.

Now they just have one more number left to circle and then we are ready for the grand finale!

Have them add together the four numbers that are circled and announce the total to you. Next
unfold the paper that was placed aside to reveal the prediction. It will always match their
total!

Secret: Let's see why this trick works. Anytime you have a square array of consecutive numbers,
the sum of the four circled numbers will always be the sum of either of the diagonals.
So for our example above, the numbers for one of the diagonals is 1, 6, 11, and 16. Let's add these
numbers up:
1 + 6 + 11 + 16 = 34
The numbers for the other diagonal are 4, 7, 10, and 13. Adding these gives:
4 + 7 + 10 + 13 = 34
So there's really no need to add up both diagonals.
If your friend wants you to repeat the trick
Usually people want to see a trick more than once. So the second time I perform the trick, I use a
different number chart so the prediction number will not be the same. The number chart below can
be used to perform the trick a second time.

The prediction sum for this set of numbers will be 65. Just add up either diagonal and the sum is 65.
And there you have it, another cool math trick to amaze friends and family!

Calendar Math Trick

This calendar math trick is yet another amazing math activity that lets kids (and adults)
see just how cool math is! Just grab a calendar from off the wall or wherever you can get
one.

The Effect:

Have a friend circle a group of nine numbers. Make sure the numbers are in a 3 by 3
rectangle like the picture shows here.

Tell your friend that you have the special ability to add all nine of the numbers
circled in your head in a matter of seconds!

You give the correct answer and have them check it with a calculator.

The Secret: All you have to do to get the sum of all nine numbers is tomultiply the number

in the center of the circled numbers by nine! So for our example, the center number is 11.
So you just need to multiply in your head, 9 x 11.

For those of you whove memorized your multiplication facts, you know right away that the
answer is 99.
HANDY TIP: To multiply by 9 quickly, just multiply by 10 then subtract your number. So to get 22 x 9 you
multiply 22 x 10 =220 (easy!) and then subtract 22. With a bit of practice you can do this quickly in your
head.

After you perform the trick once, perform it again, this time make it a little more
interesting. Challenge them to a race. Say to your friend, I will add the nine numbers in

my head while you add them with the calculator, and I will get the answer first. You just
perform it the same way as before just multiply the middle number by 9 to get the answer.

They should be pretty impressed and if they are like most, will wonder how it was
done. Usually no one will figure out the secret.
Now, how about a grand finale to impress them even more. This time tell them to circle 20
numbers in a 5 by 4 rectangle and you will add up all the circled numbers in your head in
a couple of seconds!
Take a look a the picture below.

16

The Secret: Add the smallest and largest numbers that are circled and multiply their sum by
10. And that's it. Pretty cool, huh.
So for the above example;
6 + 31 = 37 and then,
37 x 10 = 370
So the sum of all 20 numbers is 370!
Have fun with this trick. No one will be able to figure out how you get the answer so fast! If
you liked this calendar math trick, we will be adding another real soon that is also really
cool.

Pick Pocket Math Number Trick

This Pick Pocket Math Number Trick helps kids get practice with addition, subtraction, and
multiplication all in one shot!
Really impress friends and family by correctly guessing the amount of changethey have in their
pockets!

What You Need:

Find a volunteer to work your math magic on.

Make sure your volunteer has some change in their pocket. But they do not reveal it to you..

Paper

Pencil

What To Do:

Have your volunteer multiply their age by two.

Then they will add five.

Now multiply the previous sum by fifty.

Subtract 365.

Add the amount of pocket change, but do NOT count any change that is over $1.

Add 115.

Notice that the first two digits will be the person's age,and the last two digits are the amount of the
person's pocket change.
Pretty Cool Stuff!

There are plenty more math tricks like this on this site. So if you liked the math number trick above,
you will probably also enjoy these...
Birthday Math Trick: In this trick, guess a person's age by doing some simple math magic, and watch
the surprised look on their face.
And you can go to the main math tricks section of this site by clicking the link below. You'll find many
more math tricks and cool stuff there.

Birthday Math Trick

Are you ready to spice up math class with this pretty cool birthday math trick!
This little math trick should make you seem like a sort of math genius. Have fun with it. It will
involve some math calculations so be sure the person does the math correctly.
Note: Make sure you try this trick out for yourself first, using your own birthdate.
There is an example that follow the steps.

Add 18 to the month they were born

Multiply by 25

Subtract 333

Multiply by 8

Subtract 554

Divide by 2

Add their birth date

Multiply by 5

Add 692

Multiply by 20

Add only the last two digits of their birth year

Subtract 32940 to get their birthday!

Pretty Cool Math Stuff!

Here's an example below...

Let's suppose someone has a birthdate of August 22, 1964.
So we want to use the format of month/day/year so this birthdate would be08/22/64.
Notice we only used two digits for the year.
1. 18 + 8 = 26
2. 26 x 25 = 650
3. 650 - 333 = 317
4. 317 x 8 = 2536
5. 2536 - 554 = 1982
6. 1982 / 2 = 991
7. 991 + 22 = 1013
8. 1013 x 5 = 5065
9. 5065 + 692 = 5757
10. 5757 x 20 = 115140
11. 115140 + 64 = 115204

12. 1295204 - 32940 = 82264

And there you have it....8 22 64 which is the same as August 22nd, 1964!

If you enjoyed that trick you probably also like this bit of birthday math trivia. Also notice the next
two links below will take you to the main math tricks and trivia pages.
Kids don't want the same ol' boring math routine. So that's why keeping gthe math interesting and
engaging with math tricks, puzzles , games, etc. we're helping to motivate students to think more
positive about math. I mean, don't we usually feel good about the things if we're having fun?