数学英语 04 How to Add Quickly

by Jason Marshall

Today we're turning our attention to using everything we've learned so far to help you solve math problems faster than you ever thought was possible. In this article you’ll learn two tips to help you add quickly…all in your head!

Tip #1: Find Pairs of Numbers that Add to 10

Here is perhaps the single most useful quick and dirty tip to help you calculate quickly: When adding a list of numbers, look for pairs of numbers that add to ten. Here’s what I mean:

1 + 9,

2 + 8,

3 + 7,

4 + 6,

5 + 5.

All of those pairs add to ten.

So, when you’re adding groups of numbers, look for these special pairs. If you’ve got one or more pairs, it’s easy to add them up—as easy as 10 + 10 = 20.

How to Do It

Here’s an example: Let’s say you need to add the numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9. You could run through the numbers in order, adding them up one-by-one; something like:

1 + 3 = 4, then

4 + 5 = 9, then

9 + 7 = 16, and finally

16 + 9 = 25.

But that’s a lot to keep track of. Instead, if you start by pairing up numbers that add to ten—in this case 3 and 7, and 9 and 1—that leaves you with an easy problem. You just have to add the two 10s to the remaining number 5 that didn’t pair with anything:

10 + 10 + 5 = 25

Tip #2: Find Groups of Numbers that Add to 10

The second tip is really an addendum 1 to the first. Say you need to add a series of numbers like 47, 14, 21, and 32. Let’s look for pairs of numbers in the ones place that add up to 10. That's the 7 from 47, the 4 from 14, the 1 from 21, and the 2 from 32. Hmm, no two numbers here add up to 10. Are we out of luck?

No, look at the numbers again: 7, 4, 1, and 2. Three of those numbers do add up to ten:

7 + 1 + 2 = 10

That brings us to the second quick and dirty tip: Don’t restrict yourself to grouping pairs of numbers—sometimes looking at groups of three (or even more) can help.

How to Do It

Let’s look at how to solve the example problem from before in a little more detail: 47 + 14 + 21 + 32. First, notice that each term in the problem can be written as:

47 = 40 + 7,

14 = 10 + 4,

21 = 20 + 1, and

32 = 30 + 2.

Then, let’s use this to rewrite the original problem:（见图一）

Now, as we discussed during the episode 2 on the commutative property of addition, you can add these numbers in any order you like. So, let’s gather the numbers that add up to 10 and rearrange the terms as:（见图二）

The three numbers in the first term add to 10 and the four numbers in the second term add to 100, so the problem becomes:（见图三）

Believe it or not, eventually—after a bit of practice—you’ll be able to do all this in your head.

Wrap Up

You can find several practice problems below to help you sharpen your skills. Remember, try to work them out in your head if you can. Next week we'll combine these two tips with a couple of other tricks, and continue your transformation 3 into a calculating machine. Then, get ready, because the week after that we’re going to begin our foray into the world of fractions, decimals 4, and percentages.

And, throughout the month of March, we’re going to be giving away one copy of the fantastic book “The Number Devil” each week to a lucky Math Dude fan on Facebook. So please join the community there and become a fan of the Math Dude. It's a great place to ask questions and chat with other math enthusiasts 5. Check it out and see how you can win a free book!

Until next time, this is Jason Marshall with The Math Dude’s Quick and Dirty Tips to Make Math Easier. Thanks for reading, math fans!