208 Appendix B
You don’t need to recite the whole procedure. You wouldn’t say,
“Fourteen plus fi ve is one hundred and ninety. Now we multiply
four times fi ve. Four times fi ve is twenty. One hundred and ninety
plus twenty is two hundred and ten.” Th at would take you much
longer, and seems like a whole lot more work. Just say the subtotals
and totals or, if you can, just the answer.
When you practice any of the methods—especially if you want to
show off in front of your friends or class—try to anticipate what
is coming. If you see you will have to carry, say the next number
with the carried number already added. For instance, let’s multiply
11 times 84. You would immediately see that 8 plus 4 is 12 or,
at least, more than 10. So you would know to carry 1 and start
calling out, “Nine hundred and.. .” You provide the 2 from 12
to give “... twenty-.. .,” and then say the 4 at the end, giving
- You would call the answer in one breath: “Nine hundred and
twenty-four.”
Often it helps to call carry numbers what they are. Th at is, if you
are carrying 3 and the 3 represents 300, say three hundred. If it
represents 30, say thirty. Th is can be useful in multiplication and
addition.
Usually, the biggest hurdle to calling immediate answers is the
feeling that the calculation is “too hard.” Practice for yourself and
you will see how easy it is to give immediate answers off the top of
your head. Th is applies if you are saying the answer out loud or just
calculating in your head. Practice some of the strategies with your
closest friend—someone who won’t embarrass you if you make a
mistake.
Practice the problems in this book in your head. Th e fi rst time may
seem diffi cult, the second time is easier, and by the fi fth time you will
wonder why you ever thought they were hard. You will also fi nd that
this will build your concentration skills.
bbapp02.indd 208app 02 .indd 208 1 1/5/07 11:35:51 AM/ 5 / 07 11 : 35 : 51 AM
