Fast Calculation Practice- Top 6 Tricks You Must Know

There are several ways in which you can solve a mathematical problem. However, sometimes it is not always enough to just know how to solve a maths problem. We must face some situations where we need to solve math problems quickly or do calculations instantly. For example, say that you are in a grocery line followed by tens of others and you are counting the change you have received. You would not want to take your sweet time checking whether the cashier gave you the right amount and get stared at by the others in the line. Similarly, say that you only have five minutes from the time the final exam bell will ring. You would not want to calculate slowly at such times, particularly when you are taking competitive tests. 

Fast calculation practice comes in quite handy in these situations. There are many calculation tricks and tips, which can help you solve any maths problem quickly. Mastering precise and fast calculation practice is not difficult as you may think and does not require years of practice. By picking up a few simple math methods or tricks, you can enhance your calculation speed a lot.

Top 6 Tricks for Fast Calculation Practice that you must know

Quick mathematical computation saves time and eliminates the need for calculators. In addition, doing fast calculation practice might help you maintain mental agility. Many mathematical tips and tricks are knowing which can help you become faster at calculations. Given below are the top 6 time-saving quick calculation tricks that you can use in a variety of circumstances to save you time:

• Adding large numbers- Adding any two large numbers can seem difficult and a lengthy process but not when you know a trick for it. Let us take an example of adding two numbers 745 and 328 for fast calculation practice.

While adding these numbers as they are can be a bit tough, rounding them up makes adding them much easier. So, when you round up the numbers 745 becomes750, and 328 becomes 330. Since rounding the numbers makes the calculation much easier, you can quickly add 750 and 330, to get 1080. 

Now, to find the answer to the original question we assumed for fast calculation practice, you need to determine how much was added to the numbers to round them up. In this case, you added 5 to 745 to make it 750 and added 2 to 328 to make it 330. Now you simply need to add those two numbers and subtract them to the sum of the rounded figure and you will get your answer! 

In this case, now first (5+2 = 7) then do the subtraction. so the answer is 1080 - 7= 1073. You can use this trick to add any large numbers for fast calculation practice.

• Subtracting from 1,000- Subtracting numbers often feels like a hard task especially when you need to subtract a number from a number ending with many zeroes like 1000. There is a simple subtraction trick that you can use for fast calculation practice of any subtraction question. All you need to do to quickly subtract a number from 1000 is to subtract all the digits except the last one from 9. The last digit has to be subtracted from 10.

Let us take a random example of fast calculation practice using this trick. Say that you need to subtract 739 from 1000. You will then have to subtract 7 from 9 which is equal to 2. Then subtract 3 from 9 which gives you 6. Finally, subtract 9 from 10 which is equal to 1.

 By following just these steps, you can easily subtract any number from 1000. The answer in this case is 261. Looks easy right? You must use this trick when you sit for fast calculation practice the next time!

• Fast calculation practice trick for finding percentages- Finding a percentage of a number can be tricky sometimes. However, if you are aware of this calculation trick, finding a percentage of any number becomes so much easier and faster. Let us find the 5% of 823 for fast calculation practice.

The first step involved in finding out the 5% of 822 is shifting the decimal point of the number by one place. So, the number would be 82.2 here. In the next step, you simply need to divide this number by 2 (82.2/2) to find the given percentage.

So, the answer to 5% of 822 is 41.1 (half of 82.2). You can practice this calculation tricks to easily find percentages.

• Multiplication trick for numbers that end in zero-

• Multiplying two large numbers can be hard but not when they end in zeroes. You can simply multiply two large numbers that end in zeroes by multiplying the numbers except zero and then adding the zeroes to the obtained number. This trick for fast calculation practice is very simple and it will not take any time for you to learn it.

Let us multiply 300 and 700 for fast calculation practice. The first step involved in multiplying these numbers is separating the zeroes from the numbers. In this example, you would get 3 and 7, and four zeroes. Now, multiply 3 and 7 (3x7= 21) and add the four zeroes at the end of it. So, your answer is 2,10,000. You can take any two numbers and try multiplying them quickly in your head using this trick for fast calculation practice.

• Fast calculation practice trick for finding Squares Of Numbers Ending In 5 

Let us say you need to determine the square of the number 85. You just have to follow some tricks and you will be able to easily find the square of 85 quickly. 

The first step involved in this calculation is finding the square of 5 which equals 25. This 25 will be the ending digits of your answer.

In the second step of this trick, take the first digit of the number i.e, 8, and multiply it with a number that comes after it. So, you will have to multiply 8 and 9 which is equal to 72. This number will be the first two digits of your answer. 

Now, simply put together the numbers obtained after the first and second steps respectively and you will get your answer. In this case, your answer would be 7225. Seems easy right? You can easily calculate the square of any number ending in 5 by following this trick for fast calculation practice.

• Squaring Two-digit Numbers

Conclusion

Fast calculation practice can save you a lot of time! Some many mathematical tips and tricks can make fast calculations easy for you. With some practice and the knowledge of these tricks, you can save yourself a lot of time in competitive exams or in any other normal situations that require quick calculating. If you want to learn more maths tricks for fast calculation practice, enrolling yourself in the special maths courses by Swarnali Saha, the founder of Welcome 2 Maths can be helpful for you!