Addition Tricks Without Calculator
Addition is
one of the most basic and important mathematical operations. Whether you are a
small or big business man, a student, preparing for competitive exams, or
simply want to improve your mental maths skills, learning addition tricks
without a calculator can save your time to perform simple addition problem.
Mental addition increases confidence in solving bigger mathematical problems.
First
Method:
One of the
easiest addition tricks is the rounding off one number to nearest 10, 100 or
1000. In this method, you round off a number to the nearest 10, 100 or 1000
to make the calculation easier.
For example,
if you want to add 47 + 25, you can round 47 to 50 by taking 3 from 25. Now,
the calculation becomes like this:
47 + 25 = (47
+ 3) + (25 – 3) = 50 + 22
Now, 50 + 22
can be added like 50 + 20 + 2 = 70 + 2 = 72
This method
works very well when numbers are close to multiples of 10 or 100.
Second
Method:
The second
useful addition trick is the left-to-right addition method.
Most of the
students add numbers from right to left, that is, from ones, tens, hundreds …,
but adding from left to right, that is, from hundreds, tens, ones, is often
faster for mental math.
For example,
in 248 + 423, first add 200 + 400 = 600, then 40 + 20 = 60, and finally 8 + 3 =
11.
Now, combine
the results: 600 + 60 + 11
= 600 + 60 + 10 + 1
= 600 + 70 + 1 = 671
This method also
makes the calculation faster.
Third
Method:
The breaking
numbers method is also very effective. In this addition trick, we break one
number into smaller parts.
For example,
to add 36 + 67, break 36 into 30 + 6. First add 30 + 67 = 97, then add the
remaining 6 to get 103.
This trick
makes addition easier and reduces mistakes.
Fourth
Method:
The fourth
powerful addition trick is the compensation method. Suppose you need to
add 96 + 42. Instead of adding 96 directly, add 100 + 42 = 142, then subtract 4.
The answer is 138.
This
addition trick works especially well when the numbers are just 1 to 5 away from
a round figure of 100 or 1000.
Fifth
Method:
For adding
multiple numbers quickly, use the pairing method. Combine numbers that
make 10, 50, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500.
For example,
in 125 + 152 + 248 + 75, first pair 125 + 75 = 200 and 152 + 248 = 400. Now,
add 200 + 400 = 600.
Pairing
numbers reduces calculation steps and saves time.
Sixth
Number:
There is another
addition trick called adding by adjusting tens method.
For example,
in 54 + 39, add 40 instead of 39 to 54, which gives 94. Then subtract 1. The
final answer is 93.
This
addition trick is helpful when numbers are close to the next multiple of 10.
These tricks
can be applied in 4 and 5-digit numbers also.
There are
many similar addition tricks that can be applied to do day-to-day calculations
in your study or small businesses.