Teach Your Kids Arithmetic - Subtraction Shortcuts
As students, we become comfortable with what we learn first. Of the four arithmetic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, we learn to add first and for this reason are most comfortable with addition. If we apply the principle of thinking in terms of what we are most comfortable with, then subtraction need not be a difficult operation to master. Consequently, by applying addition principles to subtraction, we find our shortcut to mastery of this operation.
Addition is the first pillar of arithmetic magic. Once this operation is mastered, all others can be conquered. The reason for this is inherent in the nature and interrelationship of the four arithmetic operations. You see addition and subtraction are inverse operations of one another. This interrelationship imputes a connection between these two procedures. What this means is that we can master one through the mastery of the other. Moreover, multiplication can be mastered through addition, since multiplication is repeated addition; similarly, division via multiplication or subtraction, since division is repeated subtraction as well as the inverse operation of multiplication. Thus why fret with mastering four distinct arithmetic operations when we can think of mastering one and then using shortcuts and derivative principles to master the others?
Such is the case with subtraction. If you have read my book Arithmetic Magic (Arithmetic Magic ) then you learned how to master subtraction through addition. In this work, I show you how to handle subtraction problems like 106 - 53. Rather than do a subtraction, you can think of “adding up” from 53 to 106. Another way of thinking about 106 - 53 is what is missing from 53 to make 106? This is the same principle that is taught to cashiers to make change, before, of course, the newer cash registers came out that do this for them. What cashiers would do is count up from the 53 to the 106. Thus we count from 53 to 60 to get 7. Then we count from 60 to 100 to get 40 more. So far we have counted 7 + 40 or 47 total. The final step is to count from 100 to 106 which is 6 more. As a result, we have 47 + 6 or 53 as our total. Thus 106 - 53 is 53. Let us take one more example to show how nicely this shortcut works. Take 96 - 49. Rather than fumble with this, it’s simple if we add up from 49 to 96 as thus: 49 to 50 makes 1; 50 to 96 makes 46; and 1 + 46 is equal to 47. So 96 - 49 is 47.
If you apply this subtraction shortcut regularly, you will never have a problem with this operation again. This method works with more complicated examples as well as you can easily verify. Try to teach this method to your kids and have them practice with a few examples. In addition to the good mental workout they will get, their arithmetic skills will soar to new heights. And there’s nothing better than seeing those A’s on their report cards.
See more at my cool math site Cool Math Tricks
Algebracadabra - Math Shortcuts to Algebra Mastery
Probably the most important fundamental branch of mathematics is algebra. No matter what anyone tells you folks, if your kid is not good at algebra, there is no shot that he will excel in any of the higher branches. In fact, the famous calculus is really a form of “glorified” algebra and this is what I used to tell my high school students all the time. Therefore, if you want your kids to have a chance to study and enter the beautifully intellectual realm of the calculus, then be sure that they have the tools to master algebra.
Algebra is that branch of mathematics which deals with solving equations, using letters to represent unknown quantities. The difficulty with algebra is that for most students the many letters and symbols create an abstraction that is hard to see through clearly. After all, when you see a bunch of x’s and y’s and other expressions involving a host of mathematical symbols, your footing can quickly be lost and your head could start reeling off track. To ward off this experience, which I call the “algebra syndrome,” students must be taught algebra in a way that removes any unnecessary abstraction and paves a clear-cut road through the mist of confusion.
If students are shown ways to deal with the unavoidable abstractions in algebra, then they learn quickly to adjust for them and are not intimidated when they encounter an expression or problem that they have never seen before. By learning some tricks or short-cuts, students gain confidence and are better prepared to take on the challenges that algebra will invariably present. In one of my ebooks, I talk about some novel ways of handling and solving equations using the “light switch property.” Another shortcut I teach to solve equations is called the “bridge-toll method.” By giving meaningful names to abstract methods, the teacher lets students visualize the procedure and think about it in a way that makes it more concrete. After much of the abstraction is removed, students gain algebra mastery in a short span of time.
See more at Cool Math Tricks and Algebra Shortcuts Ebook
Your Son or Daughter Can be a Whiz Kid Too!
So do you think as a mom or dad that the prestigious status of whiz kid, accorded to children with outstanding mathematical abilities, is reserved for the other parent’s children? Well think again. My bold claim is that any child can be accorded such privileged status provided that he has an interested parent and that the process of acquiring this status is begun early, preferably during the early pre-teen years.
During the pre-teen years, children are certainly more moldable than when they hit pubescence. Teenagers are more inclined to be rebellious and to resist any “new labels” that are attached to them. Catch these children early, get them to believe that they are something special, and this label tends to get incorporated into their inner psyche, allowing them to ward off the negative attacks that will almost certainly come later on. Children need to know that they are special early on and that they possess special talents. Even if this belief is only partly true, the belief itself becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, fortifying your children against negative self-perceptions which can severely inhibit their emotional and intellectual development.
Consequently, getting them to master mathematics early on is critical to their intellectual and, as a result, scholastic, development. Children who do well in mathematics have an easier time in college than those who do not, simply because the challenges that math presents help them to overcome the challenges that a university will present. Moreover, math develops the ability to problem solve effectively and success in college is dependent on this skill.
If you want your son or daughter to acquire whiz kid status, and as a result, guarantee them success scholastically, start exposing them to arithmetic shortcuts and math tricks. Have them read some of the books on these topics and have them develop a love for numbers and mathematics. It does not take complicated mathematic or statistical models to show that the correlation between a child’s ability to master basic mathematics and success in school and indeed life is very high.
See more at Wiz Kid Ebooks and Cool Math Sites
