INTRODUCTION

CUTTING CORNERS

Whether due to curiosity or sheer laziness, man has always been experimenting, searching for and
stumbling up- on ways of making work easier for himself. That anony- mous caveman who chipped the
corners off a flat rock and invented the wheel started this tradition.

Most of man's efforts in the past were directed at con- serving or increasing his muscle power, but as
time went on some were aimed at saving wear and tear on another vital organ: his brain. It followed
naturally that his atten- tion turned to reducing such laborious tasks as calculating.

WHAT SHORT CUTS ARE

Short cuts in mathematics are ingenious little tricks in calculating that can save enormous amounts of
time and labor not to mention paper in solving otherwise com- plicated problems. There are no magical
powers connected with these tricks; each is based on sound mathematical principles growing out of the
very properties of numbers themselves. The results they produce are absolutely ac- curate and infallible
when applied correctly. Short-cut methods are by no means of recent origin; they were known even to
the ancient Greeks. The supply of short cuts is un- limited. Many are known, and many are yet to be dis-
covered. The 101 short cuts included in this book have been selected because they are easy to learn,
simple to use, and can be applied to the widest range of calculating problems.

PREFACE

101 Short Cuts in Math Anyone Can Do will unlock the secrets of the art of calculation. It will increase
your power of computation and thereby enable you to get more out of the mathematics you now know.
You will soon be amazed at your ability to solve once complex problems quickly.

Mathematics is perhaps the most important basic sci- ence today. It is a powerful and indispensable tool
in every phase of science and engineering. The world of business and finance could not survive without
it. From law and medicine to the fine arts, from atomic physics to shopping at the supermarket,
mathematics plays an essential role in our daily lives.

Many people never get farther than grade-school mathe- matics simply because they become bogged
down in the elementary arithmetic operations. For them mathematics is something mysterious and
beyond understanding. They read about electronic computers performing complicated arithmetic
operations at speeds measured in microseconds. (a microsecond is a millionth part of a second) and
wonder why it is still important to know how to perform these operations themselves.

The reason is obvious. For most people in their offices, shops, classrooms, stores, or homes, use of such
electronic brains is impractical or impossible. The simple fact is that engineers and scientists have yet to
develop a com- puter as compact and efficient as the human brain.

The short cuts in this book cover the basic arithmetic. operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication,
and division. They are used with whole numbers, decimals, vi

PREFACE
fractions, mixed numbers, and percentage. In a word, they range across the whole field of calculation
one is likely to use.

In compiling the short cuts to be included in this book, only authentic ones were chosen. An authentic
short cut is one that will produce an answer quickly and easily with- out the necessity of going through
the usual intermediate steps, and it is usually very specific. By cutting through the time-consuming
mechanical operations and going straight to the heart of the answer, a tremendous amount of needless
work is avoided.

All computations in this book are performed from left to right. This is the first time this approach has
been applied to short-cut methods. It permits you to write the answer to a problem immediately in the
same sequence in which it is read-from left to right.

Emphasis has been deliberately placed on general uses rather than on the specific uses of a particular
short cut. The practical value of a short cut is that it can be used in a wide variety of applications. By
demonstrating only one or at best a few specific applications, the danger exists that the reader will not
venture beyond the ones described.

No book can contain every short cut in math, but this book does include some of the most useful
modern methods devised.

Perhaps the most important function of this book is to introduce you to the wide practical application of
mathe- matical short cuts. Using your own creative spirit and the curiosity to experiment, there is no
limit to the num- ber of short cuts you can devise for your own special needs.

PUTTING NUMBERS IN THEIR PLACE

The numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0 are called digits. Integers are numbers consisting of one or more
digits. For example, 72,958 is an integer consisting of five digits, 7, 2, 9, 5, and 8. In practice, the word
number is applied to many different combinations of digits ranging from whole numbers, to fractions,
mixed numbers, and decimals. The word integer, however, applies only to whole numbers.

Each digit in a number has a name based on its position in the number. The number system we are
accustomed to dealing with is based on the number 10. Each number po- sition in this system is named
for a power of 10. The po- sition immediately to the left of the decimal point of a number is called the
units position. In the number 1.4 the digit 1 is in the units position and is called the units digit. In fact,
any digit that occupies that position is called the units digit. The next position to the left of the units
posi- tion is called the tens position, and any digit occupying that space is called the tens digit. In the
number 51.4 the 5 is the tens digit. Continuing to the left, in order, are the hundreds, thousands, ten-
thousands, hundred-thousands, millions positions, and so on.

The positions of the digits to the right of the decimal point also have names similar to those to the left.
The position immediately to the right of the decimal point is called the tenths position. Notice that the
name is tenths and not tens. In fact, all positions to the right of the deci- mal point end in ths. The next
position to the right of the tenths position is the hundredths position, then the thou- sandths position,
and, in order, the ten-thousandths, the hundred-thousandths, the millionths.
Remember, the position names never change. The position

to the left of the decimal point is always the units position; the one to the right is always the tenths
position, no matter what digit occupies the space.

In addition to the names of the positions as given above, the letters A, B, C,... will be used in this book to
help ex- plain the various short-cut methods. Thus, in some short cuts the digits will be arranged as given
below:

ABCDEFGHIJKLM

8 367 35 1.4 28039

The letters themselves have no significance beyond helping identify and locate a particular digit under
discussion in the short cut. For that reason it is important not only to learn the various position names
but also to gain familiari- ty with the letter notation just mentioned. Both will be used frequently
throughout this book.

GETTING THE POINT

All numbers may be considered to have a decimal point. The point is used to separate those numbers
that are equal to or greater than 1 from those numbers that are less than 1. Even if we write a number
without a decimal point, it is understood that there is one to the right of the units digit.

LEARNING TO TAKE THE SHORT CUT

The preceding sections dealt with the language of mathe- matics. Before studying any of the methods
that follow, make certain that you are thoroughly familiar with the terms that will be used. When you
read about the "hundreds digit," you must immediately recognize that this refers to a position in an
integer and not the number 100. Also, never confuse the hundreds digit with the hundredths digit.

Once you have familiarized yourself with the language, the next step is to develop a routine for learning
and mem- orizing the short cuts. Maximum efficiency can be achieved only through constant practice.
You will soon discover that short cuts fall into logical groups or classifications. Short cuts involving
numbers ending in 5 are an example of such a group. Learn to recognize a problem in terms of its group.
It would be pointless to have to refer to this book each time you wanted to apply a short cut.

TAKING THE SHORT CUT FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

Most of us were taught the arithmetic operations of multiplication, addition, and subtraction from right
to left. We always started from the units digit and worked to the left. After we got our answer, we
reversed the number in our mind and read it from left to right. Not only was the process awkward, but
the mental gymnastics wasted time. Take this simple example:

364 x 7

The product was obtained in the following order:

8, 4, 5, 2

Then to read the answer, it became

Why cannot answers be obtained in their natural reading order? There is no reason at all why we cannot
solve problems just as easily from left to right as we do from right to left.

In this book all work will be performed in the natural order in which we write and read numbers - from
left to right. Initially this method may seem strange; but once mastered, its advantages will become
evident and the time- saving ease with which it can be used will prove its worth.

In this book, the term "first digit" refers to the left- handmost digit.

FOUR TO GO

Here are a few hints to get you started on the right foot.

First, read and reread the Rules as many times as nec- essary (at least twice) until a general idea of the
short-cut method is established in your thought. Keep in mind that you are studying and not reading a
novel. Try to follow the method in general terms without thinking of specific numbers at this stage.

Next, follow the sample problems carefully, step by step. Do not skip steps just because you feel they
involve some trivial operation, such as adding 1. After you have read the sample problem a few times, try
to do the same prob- lem yourself, writing the numbers as you go along. Do not refer to the book at this
point. If you don't get all the steps correct, go back over them again. You may have to re- read the Rule.

Finally, when you are completely satisfied that you have mastered the short cut, try the Practice
Exercises. The answers should be written directly in the space provided. Try doing intermediate steps
mentally. Very soon you'll find that you can solve most problems without paper and pencil.

Remember, systematic study and concentration on what you are doing are vital to the mastery of each of
the 101 short cuts in mathematics.