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Old 18th Feb 2011, 13:42
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Whirlygig

Hovering AND talking
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Propping up bars in the Lands of D H Lawrence and Bishop Bonner
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Learn your times tables off by heart up to at least 12, play darts, work behind a bar and tot up your supermarket shop as you go round with the trolley.

And I'm not being facetious. It works - constant practice.

The main tricks are a) approximating numbers; rounding up or down to get a feeling of the magnitude of the answer; b) splitting the sum into several parts and c) did I say learn your times tables?

Anything multiplied by 5 is the same as multiplying by 10 (ie add a 0 on the end) and dividing by 2 (ie halving).

Then start multiplying 2 digit numbers by other 2 digit numbers in your head, i.e. 27 times 43 is 20 x 40 plus 7 x 40 plus 20 x 3 plus 3 x 7 = 800+280+60+21. The move onto 3 digit numbers.

When you can do those, a simple 1 in 60 rule will be a walk in the park.

Cheers

Whirls
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