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5 amazing math hacks you were never taught at school
It’s no secret that many children in the UK struggle with maths and many believe that this is because schools seem to teach the most difficult and unnecessary of formulas, equations and methods, that many of us have never had to use in our adult life, (have you ever really needed to point out which side of a triangle is the hypotenuse?)
Last year, thousands of post-16 students were forced to retake GCSE maths and failed to gain a C grade or higher. These retakes were enforced following new Government legislation, which now requires all students to hold at least a C in English, Maths and Science and if these are not achieved in Year 11 they must work towards attaining them when continuing in education.
Many would argue that the matters tested in these math exams are not entirely necessary for real life and students are struggling to revise pointless formulas and methods they will never require as an adult.
However, it’s not just the schools that are pushing students, parents now see their children as a reflection of their parenting skills and are taking it upon themselves to better their children, in order for them to achieve higher grades than they ever did at school.
Sadly, this situation will not change anytime soon and low grades in these basic subjects are having a profound effect on students when they seek work after finishing school or applying for University. Even lower end employers are now less inclined to take on students who do not hold at least a C in maths.
This poor standard, when it comes to maths, has also set in motion Government grants that are handed out to those students who do excel at the subject and go on to University to specialise, with the anticipation that they will be applying for a teaching role on EduStaff four years later and helping to put these failing statistics to rest.
So until the new teachers make it through their PGCEs, those poor students are stuck revising algebra and finding the radius of a circle, but here are some easy math hacks you can use now (and might actually need) in everyday life:
1. °F to °C
As we use the Internet more and more, we might come across an American site talking about the weather and preparing accordingly for say, 23°F temperatures. Here in Britain you might think, what are they preparing for? That’s pretty warm, right? Well 23 degrees Fahrenheit actually translates to -5°C in here in the UK, which is pretty chilly. Here’s an easy way of roughly converting the temperature, next time you’re a little confused:
°F to °C: Subtract 30 from the temperature and then divide by 2
°C to °F: Multiply the temperature by 2 and then add 30
2. Simple multiplying by 9
Hold your hands up in front of you, palms out. Spread your fingers. Now, starting with your left pinky, count from left to right until you reach the finger that corresponds to the number you are multiplying by 9. Drop this finger. The number of digits to the left of the gap is the tens solution and the number of digits to the right of the gap is the ones solution.
Let’s give it a try with 9 x 3: Count from the left pinky and drop your middle finger on the left hand. This leaves two digits to the left of the dropped finger and seven to the right, so the answer is 27. Simple!
3. Visual multiplication
Some of us struggle to do multiplication in our heads and need to work it out using pen and paper. But if you’re presented with a sum such as 23 x 42, you still might struggle even when writing it down. Take a look at this Buzzfeed video which talks you through a really easy way of working out bigger sums visually.
4. Add faster than a calculator
You’re eating out, in a large group, and want to work out what the total bill will be before it arrives. By simply breaking up each amount into tens and ones you can quickly and easily get to the total. Want more direction? Watch this very helpful instruction video.
5. Life of pi
Okay, this math hack is just to make you look clever in front of your friends. By counting the letters in each word of the phrase: ‘May I have a large container of coffee’ you can remember the value of pi (which is 3.1415926 of course). Go on, wow everyone at your next dinner party.
Now you just need to remember why pi is important…