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Mental math is the ability to perform mathematical calculations without the use of a pen and paper or a digital aid. Being able to perform mental math quickly is a real advantage. As a student it can save you precious time during a math test at school or during competitive exams such as GMAT. As an adult your mental math capabilities come in handy at work (e.g. making a quick estimate on cost of project) as well as in your personal life (e.g. tallying the bill at the payment counter).
If your mental capabilities have become a bit rusty, here are five ways in which you can improve them.
Perform Mental Math Everyday
As with any other life skill, practice is key to retaining your mental math ability. If you don’t perform mental math regularly, it’s easy to lose the ability to perform even the simplest of additions and multiplications. Everyday scenarios are an opportunity to sharpen your mental math:
When shopping items for your house, add the prices of all the items in your basket. You should have an idea of the total bill before you reach the billing counter. When at the grocery shop try to compare the per unit price of products at different quantities. For example, look at the price of 1 litre bottle of coke versus half a litre bottle, and see how much money you’d save by buying the bigger bottle.
The next time your dad stops to refuel the car, take a quick look at the prevailing fuel rate and then calculate the amount of fuel you can buy for 1000 Ringgits. You can convert everyday goals to percentages. If you had seven tasks to complete before the end of day, and have completed five items on the list, you have accomplished more than 70% of your goal for the day.
These are just some of the ways in which you can use math skills in daily life. Performing two to three mental math calculations every day for a month will significantly increase your comfort with mental math.
Abacus is an ancient tool used to solve simple to complex mathematical problems. It is taught even today in some schools and by some private tutors. Students who master the abacus become adept at performing mental math by simply visualising the Abacus rods in their mind.
In addition, the regular practise of abacus is known to develop the right-side of the brain. While the left side of your brain is more information oriented, the right side of the brain is responsible for your ability to visualise and think creatively. By developing your ability to visualise, abacus further helps you be better at mental math.
Practice on Pen and Paper
This may seem contrary to the goal you are trying to achieve, but one way to improve your mental math is to practice mathematical calculations on pen and paper. To improve your speed of calculation, use a timer. Try to beat your time with successive calculations. Some may require more practice than others, but eventually you will find that you are able to perform calculations faster on paper, and that ease of calculation will translate to your ability of performing mental math.
Learn the Tricks to Mental Math
Learning tricks of mental math can help your speed and accuracy of calculation. One mental math trick is to break down the problem into smaller calculations. For instance, when asked to multiply 15*15, most of us try to recall the table of 15. Another way to do that is to break it down like this:
(10+5)*15= 150+75=225.
Another trick is to follow the DMAS rule. When given a complex mathematical equation that has more than one mathematical operation to be performed, perform the ‘division’ first, followed by multiplication, addition, and subtraction. Also, memorising formulae, tables, and special numbers will help you perform calculations faster
Access Resources for Learning Mental Math
There are a host of online resources to help you find ways and means to perform mathematical calculations quickly. The King of Math App is just one example.
Learn the secrets of mental math from the master mathematician Arthur Benjamin who is also known as the ‘mathemagician’. Read his book called, ‘Secrets of Mental Math: The Mathemagician’s Guide to Lightning Calculation and Amazing Math Tricks.’ Some of the other books available on the subject are: Short Cut Math by Gerard W Kelly and Arithmetricks: 50 Easy Ways to Add, Subtract, Multiply, and Divide Without a Calculator by Edward H Julius.
Lastly, don’t undermine your ability to do math. The more under-confident you feel, the more likely you are to make an error in calculation. Instead of wasting energy thinking about what you don’t know, when performing a mental math calculation try to get an answer that is as close as possible to the correct answer.
Just remember – The more you do, the better you will become. Practice a little every day, and set goals on improving certain areas. If you feel that you need extra help, contact a math private tutor who can teach you how to perform mental math calculations.
Adilah, graduated from Malaysia University and is a social activist. He focuses on various areas including education and takes notes on measure which could help in the overall pattern of studying. Recently he is registered with MyPrivateTutor Malaysia and has gained reputation in his field.
