This summer, battle lines were drawn over a simple math problem: 8 ÷ 2(2 + 2) = ? If you divide 8 by 2 first, you get 16, but if you multiply 2 by (2 + 2) first, you get 1. So, which answer is right?

In this method the smaller number is partitioned (broken down into tens and units). \({27}\) is broken down into \({10}\), \({10}\) and \({7}\). The method of partitioning into tens, simplifies the ...

Children will now have to know their 12 times tables by the age of nine, but it's not about rote learning, it's about revelling in the profusion of patterns, writes Rob Eastaway, maths writer and dad.

Anita Ponsaing receives funding from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Mathematical & Statistical Frontiers (ACEMS). Most people will probably remember the times tables from primary school quizzes.