Secrets of Mental Math Secrets of Mental Math

T T
Arthur T.
e Benjamin Arthur T.
e Benjamin
x x
Harvey Mudd
t College Harvey Mudd
t College

Insight Cruises Multiplication and Squaring

October 30, 2015

Squaring numbers
16 50
1

132 160 492 2400

3
+9 32 + 1
169 2401
10 48
 60 100
2

552 3000 982 9600

5
+ 25 + 4
3025 9604
50 96

100 Proof by pattern

Why does this method work?
Numbers that add up to 20
2
10 + 10 = 20
982 9600 9 + 11 = 20
+ 4
9604 8 + 12 = 20
96 7 + 13 = 20
Algebra: A2 = (A + d)(A - d) + d2 6 + 14 = 20
Example: 982 = (98 + 2)(98 - 2) + 22 5 + 15 = 20
= (100)(96) + 4 How large can the product get?
 Numbers that add up to 20 Numbers that add up to 20
10 x 10 = 100 10 x 10 = 100
9 x 11 = 99 (down 1) 9 x 11 = 99 (down 12)
8 x 12 = 96 (down 4) 8 x 12 = 96 (down 4)
7 x 13 = 91 (down 9) 7 x 13 = 91 (down 9)
6 x 14 = 84 (down 16) 6 x 14 = 84 (down 16)
5 x 15 = 75 (down 25) 5 x 15 = 75 (down 25)
How large can the product get? How large can the product get?

Numbers that add up to 20 Numbers that add up to 20

10 x 10 = 100 10 x 10 = 100
9 x 11 = 99 (down 12) 9 x 11 = 99 (down 12)
8 x 12 = 96 (down 22) 8 x 12 = 96 (down 22)
7 x 13 = 91 (down 9) 7 x 13 = 91 (down 32)
6 x 14 = 84 (down 16) 6 x 14 = 84 (down 16)
5 x 15 = 75 (down 25) 5 x 15 = 75 (down 25)
How large can the product get? How large can the product get?
 Numbers that add up to 20 Numbers that add up to 20
10 x 10 = 100 10 x 10 = 100
9 x 11 = 99 (down 12) 9 x 11 = 99 (down 1 2)
8 x 12 = 96 (down 22) 8 x 12 = 96 (down 2 2)
7 x 13 = 91 (down 32) 7 x 13 = 91 (down 3 2)
6 x 14 = 84 (down 42) 6 x 14 = 84 (down 4 2)
5 x 15 = 75 (down 25) 5 x 15 = 75 (down 5 2)
How large can the product get? How large can the product get?

Numbers that add up to 26

13 x 13 = 169 13 x 13 = 169
12 x 14 = 168 (down 1) 12 x 14 = 168 (down 12)
11 x 15 = 165 (down 4) 11 x 15 = 165 (down 22)
10 x 16 = 160 (down 9) 10 x 16 = 160 (down 32)
9 x 17 = 153 (down 16)
8 x 18 = 144 (down 25) 13 x 13 = 10 x 16 + 32
How large can the product get?
 The most important idea for
116 doing mental math:
T
Left to
e Right
1082 11600 x

8
+ 64 t

11664
100

Addition Example Subtraction Example

314 414 464 314 314 114
+ 159 + 59
T
e
+ 9 – 159 – 200
T
e
+ 41
x
t
473 114
x
t
155
Oversubtract
Add back complement
 Subtraction Example Multiplication and Division
1234 1234 634 Orders of magnitude
– 567 – 600T
e
+ 33 (8 digits) x (5
T
digits)
e = ?? or ?? digits
634
x
t
667 x
t
(8 digits) ÷ (5 digits) = ?? or ?? digits
Oversubtract
Add back complement

Multiplication and Division Multiplication and Division

Orders of magnitude Orders of magnitude
T T
(8 digits) x (5 digits)
e = 12 or 13 digits (8 digits) x (5 digits)
e = 12 or 13 digits
x x
t t
(8 digits) ÷ (5 digits) = ?? or ?? digits (8 digits) ÷ (5 digits) = 3 or 4 digits
 Multiplication and Division Multiplication and Division
Orders of magnitude Orders of magnitude
T T
(m digits) x (n digits) e= m+n or m+n -1 digits (m digits) x (n digits) e= m+n or m+n -1 digits
x x
t t
(m digits) ÷ (n digits) = m-n or m-n +1 digits Which one? Multiply leading digits
If product ≥ 10, then m+n digits
If product ≤ 4, then m+n -1 digits
If 5 ≤ product ≤ 9, then look more closely

T
(m digits) x (n digits) e= m+n or m+n -1 digits Aside
x
t
Which one? Multiply leading digits What’s more probable? m+n or m+n-1?
If product ≥ 10, then m+n digits If digits are chosen at random (uniformly)
If product ≤ 4, then m+n -1 digits then m+n digits is much more probable.
If 5 ≤ product ≤ 9, then look more closely But real data isn’t always uniform
Mathematical Aside Think of your home address
How many have leading digit 1, 2, or 3?
What’s more probable? m+n or m+n-1?
How many have leading digit 7, 8, or 9?
If digits are chosen at random (uniformly)
then m+n digits is much more probable.
Many data sets (populations, addresses, Benford’s Law
stock prices, lengths of rivers, etc.) follow
P(Leading digit = d) = log(d+1) – log(d) 

Benford’s Law
P(Leading digit = d) = log(d+1) – log(d) 
 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
40

30
Probability

30.1 17.6 12.5 9.7 7.9 6.7 5.8 5.1 4.6

20

10
p1 + p2 + p3 = 60.2%; p7 + p8 + p9 = 15.5%
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Leading Digit

T T
(m digits) x (n digits) e= m+n or m+n -1 digits (m digits) x (n digits) e= m+n or m+n -1 digits
x x
t t
Which one? Multiply leading digits Which one? Multiply leading digits
If product ≥ 10, then m+n digits If product ≥ 10, then m+n digits
If product ≤ 4, then m+n -1 digits If product ≤ 4, then m+n -1 digits
If 5 ≤ product ≤ 9, then look more closely If 5 ≤ product ≤ 9, then look more closely
Mathematical Aside Mathematical Aside

What’s more probable? m+n or m+n-1? What’s more probable? m+n or m+n-1?
If digits are chosen by Benford’s Law, then If digits are chosen by Benford’s Law, then
the probability of m+n digits is ?????????? the probability of m+n digits is exactly 1/2.
 T
FundamentalsTof multiplication e
Fundamentals of multiplication
x
e
2-by-1 multiplication
x 624
3-by-1 multiplication t
t
x 6
42 78 6 x 600 = 3600
x 7 x 8 6 x 20 = +120
7 x 40 = 280 8 x 70 = 560 3720
7 x 2 = +14 8 x 8 = +64 6 x 4 = + 24
294 624 3744

2-by-2 multiplication Addition Method

✦ Addition Method 47
✦ Subtraction Method x 31 31 = 30 + 1

✦ Factoring Method 30 x 47 = 1410

✦ Close Together Method 1 x 47 = + 47
1457
Subtraction Method Subtraction Method
47 47 47 = 50 - 3
x 78 78 = 80 - 2 x 78
80 x 47 = 3760 50 x 78 = 3900
-2 x 47 = – 94 -3 x 78 = –234
3666 3666

Factoring Method Close Together Method

48 48 = 8 x 6
x 78
8 x 78 = 624
x 6
3744
Multiplying numbers near 100 Multiplying numbers near 100

107 (7) 103 (3)

x 111 (11) x 106 (6)
118 77 109 18
Cool!
Why?
Algebra!

107 (7) Multiplying numbers near 100

x 111 (11)
118 77 96 (-4)
(z+a)(z+b) = z2 + za + zb + ab x 97 (-3)
= z(z + a + b) + ab 93 12
Example: z = 100, a = 7, b =11 z + a = 107
(107)(100+11) = 100(107 + 11) + (7)(11)
107 x 111 = 100 x 118 + 77
Multiplying numbers near 100 Multiplying numbers near 100

107 (7) 107 (7)

x 97 (-3) x 97 (-3)
104 -21 104 -21

Multiplying numbers near 100 Multiplying numbers near 40

107 (7) 43
x 97 (-3) x 48
104 00
-21
103 79
 Addition Method Subtraction Method
43 43 = 40 + 3 43
x 48 x 48 48 = 50 - 2

40 x 48 = 1920 50 x 43 = 2150
3 x 48 = +144 -2 x 43 = – 86
2064 2064

Factoring Method Close Together Method

43 43 (3)
x 48 48 = 6 X 8 x 48 (8)
43 x 6 = 258 40 x 51 = 2040
x 8 3 x 8 = + 24
2064 2064
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 3-Digit Square 3-Digit Square
328 800
47

3142 98400 7532

14
+ 196
98596
300 706

3-Digit Square Calendar Calculations

800
47

7532 564800
+ 2209
567009
706
 Sunday Sunday
Jeudi/Jueves Thor

Moon-day Moon-day

Vendredi/Viernes Freya
Mardi/Martes Tiw

Mercredi/Miércoles Saturn-day Woden Saturn-day

Sunday Calendar Calculations

Thor’s day
2015 M T W Th F Sat Sun
Moon-day 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7or 0

Freya’s day Jan Apr Jul Oct

Tiw’s day
Feb May Aug Nov

Mar Jun Sep Dec

Woden’s day Saturn-day
 Calendar Calculations Mnemonics for Month Codes
2015 M T W Th F Sat Sun Jan = 6: W-I-N-T-E-R July = 5: 5erworks!
4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7or 0
Feb = 2: 2nd month Aug = 1: begins with A

Jan 6* Apr 5 Jul 5 Oct 6 Mar = 2: March 2 the beat Sep = 4: F-A-L-L

Feb 2* May 0 Aug 1 Nov 2 Apr = 5: F-O-O-L-S Oct = 6: T-R-I-C-K-S

Mar 2 Jun 3 Sep 4 Dec 4 May = 0: Hold the May0 Nov = 2: 2rkey!

June = 3: B-U-G Dec = 4: L-A-S-T

* For leap years, Jan = 5 and Feb = 1

2015 M T W Th F Sat Sun 2015 M T W Th F Sat Sun

4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7or 0 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7or 0
Jan 6* Apr 5 Jul 5 Oct 6 Jan 6* Apr 5 Jul 5 Oct 6

Feb 2* May 0 Aug 1 Nov 2 Feb 2* May 0 Aug 1 Nov 2

Mar 2 Jun 3 Sep 4 Dec 4 Mar 2 Jun 3 Sep 4 Dec 4

* For leap years, Jan = 5 and Feb = 1 * For leap years, Jan = 5 and Feb = 1

October 30, 2015 subtract 7, 14, 21, 28, 35… December 25, 2015 subtract 7, 14, 21, 28,…
6 + 30 + 4 = 40 – 35 = 5 (mod 7) 4 + 25 + 4 = 33 – 28 = 5 (mod 7)
= Friday = Friday
2015 2016* 2017 2018 2019 2020* 2015 2016* 2017 2018 2019 2020*
4 6 7≡0 1 2 4 4 6 7≡0 1 2 4
Jan 6* Apr 5 Jul 5 Oct 6 Deriving the year code
Feb 2* May 0 Aug 1 Nov 2
Given: 2000* has year code 0.
Mar 2 Jun 3 Sep 4 Dec 4
In 2015 the calendar has shifted 15
* For leap years, Jan = 5 and Feb = 1 times, including 3 shifts for leap
years (2004*, 2008*, 2012*) so the
What about next year?
year code should be:
15 + 3 ≡ 18 – 14 = 4.

Other useful or interesting facts Deriving month codes

1600* 1700 1800 1900 2000*
Jan 6* Apr 5 Jul 5 Oct 6
0 5 3 1 0
Feb 2* May 0 Aug 1 Nov 2
Gregorian calendar cycles every 400 years.
Mar 2 Jun 3 Sep 4 Dec 4
Between 1901 and 2099, it cycles every 28 years.
* For leap years, Jan = 5 and Feb = 1
January 1, 2001 was a Monday.
In a non-leap year, February has 28 days, so
Shakespeare and Cervantes both died on April 23, March will have the same month code.
1616 — yet they died 10 days apart!
Since March has 31 = 28 + 3 days, April’s month
code will be 3 days later.
 Phonetic code (major system)
1 = t or d 6 = ch, sh, or j

Large 2=n 7 = k or (hard) g

calculations require mnemonics
3=m 8 = f or v

4=r 9 = p or b

5=L 0 = s or z

Digits of Pi Digits of Pi π
mt r m t r t l pnch l mlv pkp mn mvr jnjr
π ≈ 3.14159265358979323846264… 3.1415 926 5358 979 32 384 6264…
motor My turtle Pancho will, my love,
meter pickup my new mover Ginger!
meteor
metro
matter
Mudder
 Digits of Pi 100 Digits of Pi
m t r t l pnj l mlv pkp mn mvr jnjr π ≈ 3.1415 9265358 979 32 3846264
π ≈ 3.1415 9265358 979 32 3846264 3 38 327 950 2 8841 971
m mv mnk pls n fvrt bkt 69 3 99 375 1 05820 97494
3 38 327 950 2 8841 971
My movie monkey plays in a favorite bucket! 45 92 307 81 640 62 8 620
shp m pp mkl t slvns bkrbr A really open music video cheers Jenny F. Jones.
69 3 99 375 1 05820 97494… 8 99 86 28 0 3482 5 3421 1 70 67…
Ship my puppy Michael to Sullivan’s back rubber! Have a baby fish-knife, so Marvin will marinate the
goose-chick!

4-Digit Square
2716
“Roman”
Large r mn
calculations require mnemonics 23582 5,432,000
358

2000 “5 million…”
 3-Digit Square 4-Digit Square
400 2716
“Roman”
42 r mn
3582 126,400 23582 5,432,000
+ 1,764 358 + 128,“teacher”
316 128,164 2000 560, 164
t ch r
“teacher”

5-Digit Square
1 = t or d 6 = ch, sh, or j

2=n 7 = k or (hard) g
Thank you!
3=m 8 = f or v

4=r 9 = p or b

5=L 0 = s or z