Nice — exam-ready, fast-memory tricks coming up. I’ll keep it short, practical and exam-friendly so you can do it in 30–60 seconds.
Always write just the dimension list
For four matrices:
\[
M_1\,(p \times q),\quad M_2\,(q \times r),\quad M_3\,(r \times s),\quad M_4\,(s \times t)
\]
Write:
\[
[p,\,q,\,r,\,s,\,t]
\]
This is the only data you need.
For 4 matrices — there are only 5 possible parenthesizations}
Memorize the 5 cost formulas — each is a sum of three scalar products:
\begin{align*}
((M_1 M_2) M_3) M_4 &:\quad pqr + prs + pst \\
(M_1 (M_2 M_3)) M_4 &:\quad qrs + pqs + pst \\
M_1 ((M_2 M_3) M_4) &:\quad qrs + qst + pqt \\
M_1 (M_2 (M_3 M_4)) &:\quad rst + pqr + pqt \\
(M_1 M_2)(M_3 M_4) &:\quad pqr + rst + prt
\end{align*}
You can get these by expanding the three multiplications needed in each order.
Plug numbers and pick the smallest
Only 5 quick multiplications — each is a sum of three products.
Practice computing each line fast by grouping multiplications.
For example: do \(10 \times 100 = 1000\), then \(\times 20 = 20{,}000\).
With practice, you'll evaluate all 5 in under a minute.
Example:
Given dimensions:
\[
[10,\,100,\,20,\,5,\,80]
\]
Evaluate each cost:
\begin{align*}
((M_1 M_2) M_3) M_4 &:\quad 10 \times 100 \times 20 + 10 \times 20 \times 5 + 10 \times 5 \times 80 = 25{,}000 \\
(M_1 (M_2 M_3)) M_4 &:\quad 100 \times 20 \times 5 + 10 \times 100 \times 5 + 10 \times 5 \times 80 = 19{,}000 \\
M_1 ((M_2 M_3) M_4) &:\quad 100 \times 20 \times 5 + 20 \times 5 \times 80 + 10 \times 80 \times 5 = 130{,}000 \\
M_1 (M_2 (M_3 M_4)) &:\quad 20 \times 5 \times 80 + 100 \times 20 \times 80 + 10 \times 100 \times 80 = 248{,}000 \\
(M_1 M_2)(M_3 M_4) &:\quad 10 \times 100 \times 20 + 20 \times 5 \times 80 + 10 \times 20 \times 80 = 44{,}000
\end{align*}
Answer:
\[
\boxed{19{,}000}
\]