What is 125 x 12?
The Correct Answer and Explanation is :
The product of 125 and 12 is 1500.
Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of the calculation:
- Understanding the problem: You are asked to multiply 125 by 12. This is a straightforward multiplication problem involving two numbers: 125 (a three-digit number) and 12 (a two-digit number).
- Breaking it down using the distributive property:
One way to solve this is by breaking the number 12 into two smaller parts, making the multiplication easier:
- ( 12 = 10 + 2 )
So, we can rewrite the multiplication as:
[
125 \times 12 = 125 \times (10 + 2)
]
- Distributing the multiplication:
Using the distributive property, we multiply 125 by each part of 12:
[
125 \times 12 = 125 \times 10 + 125 \times 2
] - Calculating the individual products:
- First, multiply ( 125 \times 10 = 1250 ).
- Then, multiply ( 125 \times 2 = 250 ).
- Adding the results:
Now, add the two products together:
[
1250 + 250 = 1500
] - Final answer: The product of 125 and 12 is 1500.
This method is called “distributive multiplication,” where we break the problem into smaller, simpler parts, making it easier to compute manually. Multiplication, especially with larger numbers, can often be simplified by breaking one of the numbers into its place value components (like tens, ones, hundreds) and then applying the distributive property.
By understanding and applying these methods, multiplication problems become easier to solve, even without a calculator. This is particularly helpful in mental math or situations where you don’t have tools to aid you.