In math class, students do a lot of simple calculations. However, some students can finish their math problems quicker than others. Why would this happen? It is because their calculation speed is very slow.
Being able to solve question faster has two advantages: saves time, and higher accuracy. When you are writing an exam, you can solve questions faster if you have good calculation skills. You will have not only enough time to solve, but also have time to check your answers. Because you will have more time to check, your answers will be more accurate.
You need to remember following pairs of numbers:
(1,9), (2,8), (3,7), (4,6) and (5,5)
These are pairs in which add up into 10. If you see these pairs added up together, you can just know that it is equal to 10.
However, there are other numbers being added together. In that case you need to be able to separate the calculation. For example,
4 + 7
We know that the pair for 4 is 6. Therefore, try to make the addition into 4 and 6
4+6+1
Since 7 = 6+1, you can easily break 7 into two parts. Then, since we know 4+6=10
10+1 = 11.
When you are adding a single digit number into 10, you can just put your single digit instead of 10.
This way the calculation can be much faster.
Examples:
8+7 = 8+2+5 = 10+5 = 15
3+9 = 2+1+9 = 2+10 = 12
7+6 = 7+3+3 = 10+3 = 13
Also when you are subtracting, you need to know the 5 pairs of numbers:
For example,
12-5
First, expressed the answer in 10-x form.
12 – 5 = 10+2-2 – 3 = 10 – 3
We get 10 – 3 According to the pairs above, (3,7)
10 – 3 = 7
Another example would be
22 – 15
22 – 15 = 20 + 2 – 2 – 13
=20 – 13
= 10 – 7
=3
Calculation gets less important as students go to high school. However, being able to calculate faster is definitely an asset as one can solve more questions in a limited time. The best way to enhance the speed of calculation would be to solve a lot of calculation problems. Although you might not notice, your calculation speed will get faster and more accurate!
This article was written for you by Edmond, one of the tutors with Test Prep Academy.