{"id":6588,"date":"2016-04-28t10:47:58","date_gmt":"2016-04-28t17:47:58","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/?p=6588"},"modified":"2016-04-27t10:48:58","modified_gmt":"2016-04-27t17:48:58","slug":"mental-math-for-the-sat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/sat\/mental-math-for-the-sat\/","title":{"rendered":"tips to improve mental math for the sat"},"content":{"rendered":"

improving one\u2019s ability to do mental math has always been a good idea, but now with the no-calculator math section<\/a>, it\u2019s lately been a popular\u00a0topic<\/a>. while you’re not expected to know how to add or subtract 3-digit numbers or do 2-digit multiplications mentally, but for medium sums, this skill can go a long way on test day. so do a snoop dogg and drop that calculator like it\u2019s hot and practice the following tips to improve your mental math agility.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\"\"
i don’t know about you, but this is how i dance after i successfully solve a problem mentally.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

review and\/or expand your times tables<\/h2>\n

if you\u2019re a little hazy on the times tables you learned oh-so long ago, it might<\/em> just be a good idea to review them. write them all out and see how much you can remember. you can even make flash cards. if you\u2019re stuck, don\u2019t reach for the calculator; instead, mentally add the number you are multiplying to the previous number so that you\u2019re practicing mental math as much as possible.<\/p>\n

if you\u2019re still sharp with the multiplication tables you learned as a kid, learn some more! push yourself as far as you like, but it\u2019s probably not necessary to go past 20. it’s also important to practice mentally figuring out equations like 170 x 2 or 1.4 x 6.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

don\u2019t just rely on memorization \u2013 look out for patterns and relationships, too<\/h2>\n

the cool thing about numbers is that they\u2019re all related somehow, which you can always use to your advantage. for example, a solid idea of the relationships between numbers and their factors can help you if you\u2019re blanking on those expanded times tables you just learned. take the number 16 \u2013 it is always going to be 2 times greater than 8 and vice versa. therefore, any product of 16 and x will always also be the product of 8 and 2x. so if you don\u2019t remember what 16 x 3 equals off the bat, you can change 16 to 8 and double 3 to 6 to think of the equation as 8 x 6 instead.<\/p>\n

also, if you do remember your expanded times tables, understanding patterns and relationships can help you quickly figure out even larger <\/em>sums without relying on your pencil. say you come across 27 x 6 on test day. you probably won\u2019t know that off the top of your head. but if you memorized multiplication tables for 18, you\u2019ll know that 18 x 9 is the same thing by using this patterns and relationships strategy.<\/p>\n

in a similar note, use the quarter trick to figure out multiplication or division involving 25. quick, what is 200 divided by 25? ok, if that was a fast one, how many quarters in $2? if you said 8 without missing a beat, do you realize how that\u2019s the same answer for the first question? whenever dealing with the number 25, it could, therefore, help you to think of 25 instead as quarters of 100.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

learn front-end addition<\/h2>\n

when you have to do an equation with two-digit numbers, 64 + 78, for example, you can use the technique of front-end addition to make the mental summing easier. front-end addition involves adding the tens<\/em> values before the unit<\/em> values. in other words, 64 + 78 would end up to be 60 + 70 (130) and 4 + 8 (12) and then 130 + 12 (142). the point of front-end addition is so that you wouldn\u2019t have to rely on any sort of \u201cmental marking,\u201d like carrying over the one, which makes visualizing the summing process so much easier.<\/p>\n

this strategy also works for subtraction too. take 82 – 28. do 80 – 20 (60), then 2 – 8 (-6), and add them together (54). on paper, it looks like it long process, but it’s simple and fast once you get the hang of it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

practice during your down time (see\u00a0tip #10<\/a>)<\/h2>\n

if you feel silly doing mental math exercises when you should be doing practice problems, work on mental math during your downtime, like when you\u2019re waiting in line or on the bus. you can even incorporate it into your wake up ritual! there are many alarm clock apps<\/a> that only shut off after you\u2019ve answered a math question (i suggest the hardest mode). what a great way to practice mental math and wake up \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

start early and don\u2019t get discouraged!!<\/h2>\n

since perfecting these techniques can take a bit of time, it\u2019s important to remember that studying for the sat is not just about<\/a> learning the topics and doing practice problems; it\u2019s also about perfecting strategies that will help you save time and do well<\/em> on these practice problems. these techniques may be slow at first, but with practice and patience, you\u2019ll be a mental math whiz before you know it!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

improving one\u2019s ability to do mental math has always been a good idea, but now with the no-calculator math section, it\u2019s lately been a popular\u00a0topic. while you’re not expected to know how to add or subtract 3-digit numbers or do 2-digit multiplications mentally, but for medium sums, this skill can go a long way on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":164,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[91],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[24874],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\ntips to improve mental math for the sat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"while you're not expected to know how to do complex arithmetic mentally, for medium sums, mental math can go a long way on test day.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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manzoor","image":{"@type":"imageobject","inlanguage":"en-us","@id":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/a905363542a5d5a2579a9d1458d37f95","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/78b3214bdc92ed073b96ccc35f8d82a0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contenturl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/78b3214bdc92ed073b96ccc35f8d82a0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"anika manzoor"},"description":"as one of magoosh\u2019s blog editors, anika relies on her nearly 20 years in education and youth leadership spaces to produce empowering, student-centered content across magoosh's blogs. anika has a ba from grinnell college and an mpp from harvard university. her experience includes serving two years as a fulbright english teaching assistant in malaysia, an sat tutor for kaplan, and currently, as the executive director of youth activism project, a nonprofit that she co-founded when she was 12 years old. anika's work has been featured in the washington post, the boston globe, and yahoo! money. she has also spoken at panels and given presentations at new york university and harvard university. if you'd like to keep up with anika, you can check out her linkedin, instagram, and twitter.","url":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/author\/anikamanzoor\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":24874,"user_id":164,"is_guest":0,"slug":"anikamanzoor","display_name":"anika manzoor","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/78b3214bdc92ed073b96ccc35f8d82a0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"","last_name":"manzoor","first_name":"anika","description":"as one of magoosh\u2019s blog editors, anika relies on her nearly 20 years in education and youth leadership spaces to produce empowering, student-centered content across magoosh's blogs. anika has a ba from grinnell college and an mpp from harvard university. her experience includes serving two years as a fulbright english teaching assistant in malaysia, an sat tutor for kaplan, and currently, as the executive director of <a href=\"https:\/\/youthactivismproject.org\/whoweare\/about-the-team\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">youth activism project<\/a>, a nonprofit that she co-founded when she was 12 years old. anika's work has been featured in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/outlook\/2019\/03\/01\/why-children-have-such-powerful-moral-authority\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the washington post<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bostonglobe.com\/metro\/globelocal\/2019\/06\/13\/how-chelsea-high-students-took-graduation-back\/ck8crrh0x1jixx1tt7p3pi\/story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the boston globe<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/money.yahoo.com\/raise-child-activist-224232037.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">yahoo! money<\/a>. she has also spoken at panels and given presentations at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=tkrzxjdk2hg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">new york university<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/sici.hks.harvard.edu\/2018\/09\/04\/anika-manzoor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">harvard university<\/a>. if you'd like to keep up with anika, you can check out her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/anikamanzoor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">linkedin<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/_anika_humaira\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">instagram<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/_anika_humaira\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">twitter<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.anikamanzoor.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">personal website<\/a>."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6588"}],"collection":[{"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/164"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6588"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6588\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6588"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=6588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}