Task

You are going to use the digits 1, 2 , 3, 4, 5 and 6 to make 3 digit numbers like 123 or 321.

You can use each digit once only and you must use all of them to form two 3 digit numbers

e.g. 123 and 456

You are going to try to find the biggest answer that you can get when you times these numbers together.

Examples:

123 x 456 = 56088
456 x 321 = 146376
But what is the biggest possible answer??

You are going to use the Excel program to help with this investigation.

Follow the steps in the diagram. You might have to follow the first two or all four depending on the programs that you have used most recently.

How multiply two numbers in Excel
Type 123 into cell A1 and press RETURN Type 456 into cell B1 and press RETURN
Type = a1b1 into cell C1 and press RETURN*
You should get 56088. "= a1b1" is a formula. " " is Excel for multiply! Try this with all the three digit numbers that you can make and try to find the pair that give the biggest answer. Show your teacher your best results. You could tidy the table up and print it off.