Category Archives: Mental Math
Just as the name suggests, mental maths refers to mathematical calculations that you do in your head. As funny as it might sound, you can very well attest to the fact that you can easily calculate 10+5 or better still 20-10. They entail some of the easiest calculations you have probably encountered in your entire lifetime. Surprisingly, you will always be forced to deal with a little bit tougher calculations in your life. This in essence translates to the fact that you never at one time have to contend with simple calculations such as the ones given above.
A perfect example of some of the less complex mental maths challenges that you are going to encounter is a visit to a restaurant. It becomes automatic for you to start thinking about the various percentages. Visit the grocery store and realize that the price of groceries has suddenly gone up. On inquiring, you are told that tax has been increased by a certain percentage, say 10%. You will automatically try to figure out the ten percent of the amount you previously used to pay and such like issues. When first budgeting about how to spend your salary, you often start by doing some mental calculations before getting down to the electronically aided option.
Mental maths has been known to run almost every aspect of human life, considering that from the moment you wake up you are always calculating the amount of time it is going to take you to accomplish certain tasks. Worth noting is that this type of mathematics does not necessarily reflect how good one is in mathematics in general. It is a skill and the only difference is that while some people can be fast, others might take ages to work on simple calculations.
There is need to develop mental maths in children from a very tender age. Funny enough, there are some techniques that when embraced they help in simplifying even the most complex of calculations. For instance, it is possible for you and your child to calculate 1478+3456+98-29 in less than five seconds, without the use of a calculator or any other gadget. This has been made possible by the fact that maths systems are used in making mental calculations easy. East Asia is credited for developing most of these methods. Since most mental calculations often happen subconsciously, it is important to develop the art of constantly engaging in mental maths since it has proven health benefits to both the young and the old.
It’s true that most people don’t like maths. This is because sometimes it requires a lot of thinking. You have to work up your head a little than you would on other problems. Some math problems can be very frustrating if you do not know how to go about them. The funny thing is that we use mental maths like everyday when carrying out our daily activities. When we go to the market or the store, when we are paying for taxis and we require some change, when we are walking we calculate the amount of time we take over a certain distance and so on.
Math is a good way of exercising your mind. It also improves the level of your concentration because you cannot solve a math problem in your mind if you keep diverting attention. Mental maths is also good for young children. If you make your child get used to doing them, it is likely that he will not have math difficulties in school or elsewhere. It will improve his problem solving capabilities and create a positive attitude towards maths, as many children grow up disliking it.
Mental health also can also help you in school practical mathematics. This is especially good with children. If the child is able to work out math problems, he may be interested in taking further his knowledge in maths at a higher level, like in college. He can do analytical chemistry or engineering. He may further take a career that involves maths. Some of the careers he might take up include medicine and technology.
Mental maths also enables you to be able to operate most technical things in life. The use of the computer is now very widespread and at least every office now uses it. Computers simplify our work at a large extent and they are faster than using manual methods. Data processing and communication will require that you can perform simple mental maths in administering what you want the application to do for you.
Mental maths also increases your reasoning. You will be able to connect events. For example if you want to book a flight to a certain destination. The air fare is quite low but the accommodation is costly in the country. Then there is another option of traveling with a more costly ticket to a different destination where accommodation is extremely cheap. Simple mental maths will enable you to think outside the box. It affects most of your decisions in life.
Mathematics is a subject from which many shy away. It is interesting though to note that those who perform well at it find it easy. This is because they employ certain tactics, knowingly or unknowingly, that make maths easy. Knowing these tactics will help you improve your general mathematics skills and your speed in doing mental maths.
This is one of the oldest methods used in mathematics. It would involve learning addition, multiplication and even division tables by rote. It is successful to the extent that it gives all students a solid foundation in making simple calculations.
It is also on this method that many of the other techniques are founded. Some children also discover patterns from it and use them to form their own shortcuts.
This is a method used in some schools in early years’ classes. It focuses on the use of visual aids to perform simple calculations. Over time, the aid used gets ingrained in the brains of users.
The Abacus itself is a wooden frame with wires joined to its ends. On these wires, there are beads used to represent numbers. The use of it motivates the brain to ‘construct’ a similar tool of its own and use it for rapid mental maths calculations.
This is one of the most effective methods and it relies on establishing patterns and using them to generate quick results. Its main advantage is that one can establish his own rules and use them. It is easier however to follow the ones available both online and in texts.
They start with very simple facts for young students but also contain secrets to bigger math problems.
This method has its origin in India and is by far the most convenient. This is because learning high speed Vedic maths will enable one to do all sorts of calculations, basic and advanced, mentally.
It contains 16 formulae that should not be difficult to master for the average student. It offers a holistic approach to mental maths that can help in fighting the phobia many students have towards the subject.
The secret to excellence in mental maths therefore, is to learn one or two of these simple methods and use them in everyday calculations. This will help you master them and will serve to improve both the speed and accuracy with which you perform mathematical calculations.
Mathematics is one of the vital subjects in the different curriculums all over the world. For most of the people, it is a difficult and boring subject while for those who have had a sweet taste of math, nothing could be better.
Mental math is so interesting although many people tend to find it a bit difficult to master, there are set methods that can help you achieve this faster than you can imagine. Vedic mathematics is one of them and is rated among the best methods available.
It is one of the most recommended methods for the students who are preparing for any mathematical examinations or contests for that matter. Compared to other conventional methods of learning mathematics, Vedic mathematics tends to be more systematic, unified and simplified at the same time. It is a powerful tool for mental math that encourages the students to develop heir skills in Mathematics and at the same time gives them an opportunity to engage in some fun giving them satisfaction and flexibility in the learning methods.
Going by the fact that this method is easily implemented in schools, its popularity among students and academicians grows by the day. It is very effective when it comes to saving time during competitions and examination.
Vedic way of learning mental math has quite a number of advantages. For starters, this method allows you to increase your speed up to 15 times faster than if you were using the conventional math. It also increases the confidence of the learner by a great deal as well as heightening the self esteem.
The academic performance of the student is also boosted a great deal. You do not have to wait a lifetime for the results to manifest themselves because you experience the results instantly. In addition to this, it heightens the mental capability and intelligence as it sharpens the mind. This system is adequate for a learning experience not forgetting the fact that it is comprehensive enough for the learner.
This system of improving mental math is also very efficient for boosting the concentration abilities of a learner. It develops all parts of the brain equally and as such, it increases the visualization and the ability to concentrate for longer periods. Since it is relatively easy to understand and comprehend, it eliminates the phobia for math that is present in so many people. It is also important when it comes to cultivating a long term interest in Mathematics.
Imagine handling arithmetic calculations without the use of a calculator or a computer. You will have to struggle, biting your nails and scratching your head for mathematical formulas to solve the puzzle. However, it is important for school going children and all other people to engage in this practice for their own good. There are several reasons that make mental maths important to you and your child.
Mental maths is important because it is an excellent way to stimulate your mind by helping you get better with number sense. This helps you become familiar with how numbers interact and keep you alert always.
The society contributes greatly to the importance of this subject. One does not want to look uneducated in the society and the only way to proof this is by being able to calculate simple mathematical problems with ease. You have to add and subtract without the use of a calculator to show that you are intelligent.
Mental maths also helps you to be faster in your work. You do not need a calculator to determine the sum of two simple numbers. If you compare the time used by a calculator to add or subtract these simple numbers to mental calculation, you will realize that you take a shorter time than the calculator. It is therefore advised that a calculator should only be used in performing compliment maths like getting the cosine of a number.
Mental work is also important in business. You do not need to carry along a calculator every time you are going to buy something. You can be able to determine if the shopkeeper purposely gave you less change by applying the ability of mental work unlike computing equipment and that will require you go back home and make the calculation.
Mental maths is also necessary in estimation. In the modern world of calculators and computers, mental estimation skills are important. It is helpful mostly in cash registers where the cashier might enter the wrong numbers or put a decimal point at a wrong place, and accepting the receipt or cash blindly will really cost you, here mental work will help you correct the error for the sake of your money.
It is worth noting that almost all calculations use the same skills as mental maths thus, it is important to build number sense in our daily lives to run our daily errands efficiently.