10 Techniques to Solve Math Problems Faster

29 Apr 10 Techniques to Solve Math Problems Faster

“The difference between the poet and the mathematician is that the poet tries to get his head into the heavens while the mathematician tries to get the heavens into his head.”

– G.K. Chesterton 

There are countless people in the world today who get intimidated by mathematics. Difficulty solving problems with large numbers is a common issue that a lot of people struggle with. Through this article I intend to share with you some simple quick math techniques. The techniques are as follows. 

Large Numbers 

Adding large numbers without a calculator can be really difficult, but you can make this process very easy and simple by transforming all the numbers into a multiple of 10. For example, if you need to add 644 + 238: 

• First of all, round the numbers up into 650 and 240. 
• Add both the rounded numbers; the answer is 890. 
• Find the difference between original and rounded numbers, e.g. 650 – 644 = 6 and 240 – 238 = 2, 
• Add the difference, e.g. 6+2 = 8. 
• Finally subtract 8 from 890; the answer is 882. 

Subtraction

If you want to subtract a big number from 1000 then simply subtract the final number from 10 and subtract all the other numbers from 9. Suppose for instance that you want to subtract 1,000 – 556. 

• First of all, work out 9 – 5 = 4. 
• Secondly, do 9 – 5 + 4. 
• Finally, figure out 10 – 6 = 4. 
• 444 is your answer. 

Division 

Want to know how a number can be evenly divided? See some examples below: 

• 10 if the number concludes with a zero. 
• 9 when the numbers are added and the total can be divided by 9. 
• 8 if the case is such that the last 3 numbers can be divided by 8. 

Multiplication Through 9 

You can multiply any digit through 9 with this technique. Consider 9 x 3 as an example: 

• Subtract 1 from the digit which is about to get multiplied by 9, e.g. 3 – 1 = 2. 
• Subtract the answer from 9, e.g. 9 – 2 = 7. 
• Combine 2 and 7, e.g. 27. 
• See, it works! 9 x 3 = 27. 

5 Times Multiplication (Even Number) 

You may have multiplied 5 with a lot of even numbers. Well, this multiplication can be done faster. Consider the example of 5 x 4. 

• Divide 4 by 2 – the answer is 2. 
• Add a zero to the above answer to make it 20. 

10 Times Trick 

If you want to multiply any digit by 10 and want a quick answer then simply add 0 in the end of the digit. Consider the example: 62 x 10 = 620. 

% % % 

You can find percentages quickly by this method. For example, if you want to find 5% of 235 then follow the steps below 

• Move of the decimal point by one place, e.g. 23.5. 
• Divided the value above by 2. 
• The answer is 11.75. 

Quick Squaring

Consider the number 35. 

• Divide the 3 of 35 by 3, the answer is 1 
• Place 25 at the end. 
• “[3 x (3 + 1)] x 25” 
• Solve the first part of the equation first “[3 x (3 + 1)] = 12” 
• Multiple the answer with 25 to get the final answer: “12 x 25 = 1225” 

Hard Multiplication 

While doing multiplication of large numbers, provided one of the digits is even then you can do the following: 

• For example, you want to multiply 20 x 120. 
• First of all, divide 20 by 2 to make it 10, then double 120 to make it 240. 
• Multiply 10 x 240 to make it 2400 – this is the final answer. 

Numbers That End At “0” 

For quick multiplication of numbers that end in “0” consider the following 

• Suppose you want to multiply 200 x 400. 
• Multiply 4 by 2 to get 8. 
• Put all the zeros after 8 to make it 80,000 (This is the final answer). 

Conclusion 

These are some of the basic techniques you can employ to make solving math problems a little easier. Try to solve more questions to become even more proficient in mathematics.