The Trachtenberg Speed System of Basic Mathematics

http://www.habarbadi.com/tracmath/ Software download

This constitutes a system of performing high-speed multiplication, division, addition, subtraction, and square root, all in one's head. The details are given in this reference: Ann Cutler and Rudolph McShane, The Trachtenberg Speed System of Basic Mathematics, (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1960); reprint (Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1983) [specific reference here]. While it is impossible to capture the contents of this 270-page book in one Web page, below you will find a part of the content of this system. For information about the life of Professor Jakow Trachtenberg, Founder of the Mathematical Institute in Zurich, see Trachtenberg Speed Math and Trachtenberg Math. Multiplication Finding the product of multiplicands of any length by small multipliers is accomplished using a set of rules. One works from right to left from digit to digit of the multiplicand, writing down the digits of the product. The rules use only addition, subtraction, doubling, and halving. Here are the rules: Multiplier Rules 0 1 2 3 Zero times any number at all is zero. Copy down the multiplicand unchanged. Double each digit of the multiplicand. First step: subtract from 10 and double, and add 5 if the number is odd. Middle steps: subtract from 9 and double, and add half the neighbor, plus 5 if the number is odd. Last step: take half the left-hand digit of the multiplicand and reduce by 2. First step: subtract from 10, and add 5 if the number is odd. Middle steps: subtract from 9 and add half the neighbor, plus 5 if the number is odd. Last step: take half the lefthand digit of the multiplicand and reduce by 1. Use half the neighbor, plus 5 if the number is odd. Use the number plus half the neighbor, plus five if the number is odd. Use double the number plus half the neighbor, plus five if the number is odd. First step: subtract from 10 and double. Middle steps: subtract from 9, double, and add the neighbor. Last step: Reduce the lefthand digit of the multiplicand by 2. First step: subtract from 10. Middle steps: subtract from 9 and add the neighbor. Last step: reduce the lefthand digit of the multiplicand by 1. Use the neighbor. Add the neighbor to the number.

5 6 7 8

10 11

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Double the number and add the neighbor.

When the sum exceeds 10, write down the last digit, and carry the first digit. If you are taking half an odd number, use the integer quotient and ignore the remainder of 1. Examples: 1. Multiply 901247 by 2. 0 + 7 * 2 = 14. Write down 4, carry 1. 1 + 4 * 2 = 9. Write down 9. 0 + 2 * 2 = 4. Write down 4. 0 + 1 * 2 = 2. Write down 2. 0 + 0 * 2 = 0. Write down 0. 0 + 9 * 2 = 18. Write down 8, carry 1. 1 + 0 * 2 = 1. Write down 1. Answer: 901247 * 2 = 1802494. 2. Multiply 901247 by 3. 0 + (10 - 7) * 2 = 6. 6 + 5 = 11. Write down 1, carry 1. 1 + (9 - 4) * 2 = 11. 11 + [7/2] + 0 = 14. Write down 4, carry 1. 1 + (9 - 2) * 2 = 15. 15 + [4/2] + 0 = 17. Write down 7, carry 1. 1 + (9 - 1) * 2 = 17. 17 + [2/2] + 5 = 23. Write down 3, carry 2. 2 + (9 - 0) * 2 = 20. 20 + [1/2] + 0 = 20. Write down 0, carry 2. 2 + (9 - 9) * 2 = 2. 2 + [0/2] + 5 = 7. Write down 7. [9/2] - 2 = 2. Write down 2. Answer: 901247 * 3 = 2703741. These rules allow one to dispense with memorizing multiplication tables, if that is desired. Even better, it gives a way to help memorize them, by allowing one to work out the answer by rule if one cannot remember it by rote. Once the multiplication tables are memorized, using multipliers of two digits is learned. Finally, using multipliers of any length is learned by the "two-finger" method. Addition The method advocated here involves the following principle: "Never count higher than eleven." If any running column total exceeds 11, subtract 11 and put a tick mark in that column. When you reach the bottom, write down the running total, and under it write the number of tick marks. Now add these two rows using the strange rule of adding the two numbers in any column and the neighbor tick number. Write down the last digit and carry the other digit, if any, working right-toleft. Example
6 8 9 7' 5' 8' 9' 6 6 7' 1 0 6' 4 6 4' 9' 8' ---------8 1 1 3 1 2 3 3 ---------2 '1 6 7 6 3 column of figures running totals ticks sum

This technique works on arbitrarily long columns of figures, and the columns can be dealt with in any order desired, except at the very last step.

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What is the Trachtenberg system? What can it do for you? The Trachtenberg system is based on procedures radically different from the conventional methods with which we are familiar. There are no multiplication tables, no division. To learn the system you need only be able to count. The method is based on a series of keys which must be memorized. Once you have learned them, arithmetic becomes delightfully easy because you will be able to "read" your numbers. The important benefits of the system are greater ease, greater speed, and greater accuracy. Educators have found that the Trachtenberg system shortens time for mathematical computations by eighty per cent. The Trachtenberg system has methods for multiplying the numbers 1 through 12 with any number quickly and easily. Each number has one or more "shorthand" techniques that you use to quickly go from the number to be multiplied (the multiplicand) to writing down the answer. You always perform some operation on the multiplicand that leads directly to the answer. For example, the shorthand techniques for multiplying any number by 11 are: 1) The last number of the mulitplicand is put down as the right-handed figure of the answer. 2) Each successive number of the multiplicand is added to its neighbor to the right. 3) The first number of the multiplicand becomes the left-hand number of the answer. Using these three steps, you can multiply any number by 11 and quickly write the answer. Techniques for the other numbers are similar. Some are slightly more complicated but none require more than three steps and most do not require any calculation more difficult than adding two single-digit numbers together. There are seven chapters to the book. The first chapter shows how to multiply numbers between 0 and 12 using the Trachtenberg system. The second chapter moves on to a more general technique for multiplying two 2digit numbers together such as 45 times 23. The technique is straightforward and much simpler than the traditional method. This technique is then generalized to multiplying numbers with any number of digits such as 549394583945 times 2839430. The third chapter describes another, faster method for multiplying any two numbers together. The fourth chapter shows a method of adding up large columns of numbers and quickly checking your answer. The fifth chapter is about division. As with multiplication, the methods used to divide large numbers by other large numbers are simpler than traditional methods. Division involves more complex methods than multiplication, but the system is still easier to work than traditional long divison and also includes an easy method for checking your answer and quickly finding errors. Chapter 6 is about squaring and taking square roots. These involve operations similar to those used for multiplication and division and enable you to square or

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take the square root of any number with a modest set of calulations. As with multiplication and division, none of the calculations are with large numbers and there are ways to check your results along the way. The final chapter looks back at the multiplication methods in the first chapter from another perspective. It has a short review of basic methods of algebra and then applies these basic methods to the procedures discussed earlier. It walks through the algebra that was used to create the simple rules for multiplication.

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Trachtenberg system
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search The Trachtenberg System is a system of rapid mental calculation, somewhat similar to Vedic mathematics. It was developed by the Ukrainian engineer Jakow Trachtenberg in order to keep his mind occupied while being held in a Nazi concentration camp. The system consists of a number of readily memorized patterns that allow one to perform arithmetic computations very quickly. The rest of this article presents some of the methods devised by Trachtenberg. These are for illustration only. To actually learn the method requires practice and a more complete treatment. When performing any of these multiplication algorithms, the multiplier should have as many zeroes prepended to it as there are digits in the multiplicand. This will provide room for any carrying operations. For instance, when multiplying 366 7, add one zero to the front of 366 (write it "0366"); when multiplying 985 12, prepend two zeroes to 985 ("00985"). Each digit but the last, including the prepended zeroes, has a neighbor, i.e., the digit on its right.

[edit] Multiplying by 12
Rule: to multiply by 12: Starting from the rightmost digit, double each digit and add the neighbor. This gives one digit of the result. If the answer is greater than 1 digit simply carry over the 1 or 2 to the next operation. Example: 316 12 = 3,792: In this example: the last digit 6 has no neighbor. the 6 is neighbor to the 1. the 1 is neighbor to the 3. the 3 is neighbor to the second prepended zero. the second prepended zero is neighbor to the first. 6 2 = 12 (2 carry 1) 12+6+1=9 32+1=7 02+3=3 02+0=0

[edit] Multiplying by 11
Rule: Add the digit to its neighbour.(By neighbour we mean the digit on the right.) Example: 3,425 11 = 37,675 0 3 4 2 5 x 11=
3 7 6 7 5 (0+3) (3+4) (4+2) (2+5) (5+0)

Proof: 11=10+1 Thus, 3425 x 11 = 3425 x(10+1)

= 34250 + 3425

[edit] Multiplying by other numbers

The 'halve' operation has a particular meaning to the Trachtenberg system. It is intended to mean "half the digit, rounded down" but for speed reasons people following the Trachtenberg system are encouraged to make this halving process instantaneous. So instead of thinking "half of seven is three and a half, so three" it's suggested that one thinks "seven, three". This speeds up calculation considerably. /var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_2/184042752.doc 6/11

In the same way the tables for subtracting digits from 10 or 9 are to be memorized.

[edit] Multiplying by 5
Rule: to multiply by 5: 1. Take half of the neighbor 2. Add 5 if number is odd Example:42x5=210 4=2,2=1 43x5=215

84x5=420

[edit] Multiplying by 6

Rule: to multiply by 6: 1. Add half of the neighbor to each digit. 2. If the starting digit is odd, add 5.

Example: 6 357 = 2142 Working right to left, 7 has no neighbor, add 5 (since 7 is odd) = 12. Write 2, carry the 1. 5 + half of 7 (3) + 5 (since the starting digit 5 is odd) + 1 (carried) = 14. Write 4, carry the 1. 3 + half of 5 (2) + 5 (since 3 is odd) + 1 (carried) = 11. Write 1, carry 1. 0 + half of 3 (1) + 1 (carried) = 2. Write 2.

[edit] Multiplying by 7

Rule: to multiply by 7: 1. Double each digit. 2. Add half of its neighbor. 3. If the digit is odd, add 5. Rule: to multiply by 8: 1. Subtract last digit from 10 and double 2. Subtract the other digits from 9 and double 3. Add result to the neighboring digit on the right. 4. For the last calculation (The leading Zero), subtract 2 from the neighbor. Rule: to multiply by 9: 1. Subtract the last digit from 10. (Ex.: 10 - 3 = 7) 2. Subtract the middle numbers from 9, and add to the number to the right. 3. Take away 1 from the first number.

[edit] Multiplying by 8

[edit] Multiplying by 9

[edit] Book
The Trachtenberg Speed System of Basic Mathematics by Jakow Trachtenberg, A. Cutler (Translator), R. McShane (Translator), Rudolph Mcshane (Translator)

[edit] External links

The Invisible Number in Every Mental Calculation

It's one of the big secrets of mental math. And it explains why some people do math easily, while others struggle, lose the place, and get the wrong answer. What is it?

The Invisible Number

The invisible number?

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Yeah. It's the number you hold in your mind as you progress through a calculation. It happens so fast you're not even properly aware of it. But it's always there. Today you're going to discover how you can boost your "invisible number" skill...and make mental arithmetic as easy as a walk in the park. All you need is a little mental technique known as the 'shuffle'. The name derives from the initials S.H.F. which stand for: "See it... Hear it... Feel it..." Let's see the technique in action with a simple example: 387 + 568 Working left-to-right, you first add the hundreds. 300 plus 500 makes 800, so you need to remember... 800. Okay here's where the technique kicks in:

1. SEE the number

See the number 800 in your imagination as best you can. It doesn't have to be glorious technicolor movie. Just be aware of it somewhere. Make it big. Make it colorful.

2. HEAR the number

At the same time, say to yourself: "Eight hundred". Repeat the words "Eight hundred" once or twice if you like.

3. FEEL the number

Okay, how do you 'feel' a number? Imagine drawing the number in your imagination. Feel yourself tracing the digits, first the 8... then the first 0... then the last 0. Just practice for a few seconds seeing, hearing and 'feeling' the number 800. Okay, done? Great. Let's return to our calculation 387 + 568. Hopefully you've remembered the first part of the answer... 800! Now look at the next digits in the sum. It's 80 plus 60 which makes 140. You want to add that 140 onto the number in your mind (800) and that makes 940. Okay, 940. See it flash into your mind, big and colorful. Say "nine forty" to yourself as you see it. And 'feel' the digits written in your mind. You don't have to physically trace your finger over the digits. Just be aware of the shape of them. Back to our 387 + 568 calculation, your invisible number is 940 and you add the final digits: 8 plus 7 which make 15. Adding 15 to the number in your mind (940) makes 955. Easy, huh? Let's have a quick review:

The Left-to-Right Shuffle Made Easy

Can you see how left-to-right calculation really works now? Your brain moves through the sum like a computer. (And your brain IS the most powerful computer ever devised.) You build up the answer to a sum, piece by piece. And you store and update that answer in your short term memory as you go. Using the 'See it - Hear it - Feel it' technique simply makes the process easier to keep track of. You might say it makes it more 'human'! Use the technique a few times, especially when you're learning a new math skill, or when your brain feels a little rusty.

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Play with the technique. There is often too much anxiety attached to math. You'll often improve your math skills just by slow things down and just playing around. In fact, play is...

The Key to Mental Breakthroughs

The 'See it - Hear it - Feel it' technique invokes both sides of the brain: the left-hand logical side (favored by most math books) and the right-hand creative side. Use only the left-hand logical side and math is "hard"... "boring"... "stupid". Use both sides of the brain and math becomes "fun"... "easy"... "cool". So go and practice the See-Hear-Feel technique now. Start with some easy sums, and become aware of your "invisible number" as you move slowly through the calculation. This powerful exercise will help you develop 'a head for math' very quickly. You will definitely experience a change in the way you think about numbers. With a little practice, your "invisible number" awareness will improve to the point it becomes natural to you. And that's what you're aiming for here - becoming a natural mental calculator, where mental math is as effortless as reading a few words on a page.

The King of Mental Math Games

There's one mental math game that will improve your mental math skills beyond recognition. In fact all the great mental calculators have played it in some form. The game has got nothing to do with shooting aliens or counting kangaroos. In fact it's very simple. But if you'll take a few minutes to play it now and again, you'll soon notice a profound difference in your speed, accuracy and general ease with mental arithmetic.

Introduction
The game is very simple. Here's how it goes: Take any mental math sum, and see how many ways you can solve it. That's all? Yes. But be assured this is one of the most powerful exercises available. For this example, we'll use 16 x 12. How many ways can we solve this? You may be surprised...

Note:

This exercise features many of the multiplication techniques taught at Mental Math Master. If you've haven't completed the Multiplication tutorials (up to 'two-figure multiplication') then head over to the Tutorials now. Come back to this exercise when you're ready.

16 x 12 Method 1: Split the 12

Firstly, remember the 'commutative property' of multiplication, which is a fancy way of saying: 16 x 12 = 12 x 16 An easy way to multiply by 12 is to split the 12 into 10 and 2. In other words, to get 12 x 16 ("twelve lots of sixteen"), you can work out ten sixteens, then add on another two sixteens. Let's do it. 10 x 16 = 160 and then 2 x 16 = 32 Add them together: 160 + 32 = 192

16 x 12 Method 2: Cross multiply

You can apply the cross multiplication technique.

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So for 16 x 12 you would: a) Multiply the hundreds. 1 x 1 = 1 so you've got 100 so far. b) Multiply the tens. 6x1 + 2x1 = 8. That's 8 tens which is 80. Added to your 100 from the previous step and you've got 180. c) Multiply the units. 6 x 2 = 12. Add that to your 180 and you've got 192.

16 x 12 Method 3: Factor the 12 into 6 x 2

You know from your multiplication tables that 12 is comprised of two sixes. (Because 2 x 6 = 12.) So you can do the multiplication in two steps: Multiply 16 by 6 Then multiply the result by 2. What's 16 x 6? Well, six 10s are 60 and six 6s are 36. And 60 + 36 makes 96. Now get 96 multiplied by 2. Remember, to multiply by 2 you simple double. So to double 96.... double 90 to get 180... then double 6 to get 12, which when added to the 180 makes 192.

16 x 12 Method 4: Factor the 12 into 4 x 3

This is very similar to Method 3 above, except this time you're multiplying by 4 and then 3. (Note - you could of course multiply by 3 and then 4. But generally in mental math you want to tackle the larger number first. It usually gives you less to remember in later steps of the calculation.) So this time, to do 16 x 12 you're actually doing 16 x 4 x 3 To do 16 x 4 you simply double 16 twice. Double once is 32 and doubled again makes 64. Now do 64 x 3. Three 60s make 180. And three 4s make 12. Adding 12 to 180 makes 192.

16 x 12 Method 5: Factor the 16 into 8 x 2

Now to do 16 x 12 you're multiplying 8 x 2 x 12. Remember you can multiply numbers in any order you like. Here we'll do 8 x 12 (get the larger multiplication out of the way) and then finally do the "times 2". And so for 8 x 12.... 8 times 10 makes 80, and 8 times 2 makes 16. Added together, 80 + 16 = 96 Now multiply this 96 times 2. You simply double 96 to get.... 192.

16 x 12 Method 6: Factor the 16 into 4 x 4

Well why not? The easiest way to multiply a number by 4 is to double twice. So for 16 x 12, let's do 4 x 4 x 12. 4 x 12 is 12 doubled twice: doubled once make 24 and doubled again makes 48. Now you want to do 4 x 48. Again just double twice: 48 doubled once is 96. And twice is 192.

16 x 12 Method 7: Double the 12 four times

Doubling is a powerful mental math technique, often faster than multiplying. To multiply by 2, double once. To multiply by 4, double twice. To multiply by 8, double three times. To multiply by 16, double four times. You simply need to keep a count of how many times you've doubled. But it just comes down to practice. So you could simply double the 12 four times, which is almost exactly what you did in Method 6 above. However, breaking it down into two steps may have helped make the calculation more manageable. But let's do double the 12 in one clear run now: Doubling four times, you go: "12... 24... 48... 96... 192."

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16 x 12 Method 8: Use the 15 shortcut

Look again at 16 x 12. The number 16 is very close to 15. And 15 is very easy to multiply by. So you could get fifteen lots of 12... and then add one more 12. 15 x 12 then. To multiply by 15, you can multiply by 10... and then add on half the total. (Because 5 is half of 10.) Okay, to do 15 x 12... you get 10 x 12 = 120... then add on half of 120 (which is 60) to make 180. You've 15 twelves now, but you want 16 twelves. So add on one more 12 to the 180 and you get 192. How many methods have we found so far? Eight. Are there any more ways of doing 16 x 12? Surely we've exhausted them all by now? Not quite.

16 x 12 Method 9: Look to a base

Quite often you can spot an easy way of doing a mental calculation by looking to the base. What's a 'base'? A base is any multiple of ten. And calculations using a base number are very easy. In fact we used a base way back in method 1, where we split the 12 into 10 and 2. In this case, the base was the number 10. But is there another base hidden somewhere? Look at 16 x 12 once more. You might feel that 16 is fairly close to the base 20. It's only 4 below, and of course 4 is an easy multiplier. So let's think of 16 as 20 - 4. And to do 16 x 12 we'll multiply 20 x 12 and then take off 4 x 12. 20 x 12 is easy. It's 240. Now you want to take away 4 x 12. First work out what 4 x 12 is: it's simply 12 doubled twice, which is 48. You can take 48 from 240 in two steps: Taking away 40 leaves 200. Then taking away the remaining 8 leaves 192. Any more methods? We've got nine so far. It'd be nice to make a straight ten... Yes there's another way:

16 x 12 Method 10: Another shortcut

Look at 16 x 12 on final time. Previously we noticed the 16 was close to 15. But what about the 12. Is it close to any special number? Well yes. 11. Multiplying a two-figure number by 11 is very easy (when you know the shortcut). So let's get 11 lots of 16. Then add one more 16 to make twelve. 11 x 16 = ? All you do is "mentally split" the 1 and the 6 apart, and insert their sum. 1 + 6 makes 7. Insert this 7 between the 1 and 6 of 16 and you've got 176. So 11 x 16 = 176. But you want 12 x 16. So you add on one more 16 to 176 and you get... 192.

Summary:

There are at least 10 ways to multiply 12 x 16. There are others if you really want to start getting creative. But we'll call a halt here. You don't need 10 ways to do something. Normally you'll choose one way (the easiest way) and simply do it. But this is an exercise in mental math creativity. Of all the mental math games you can play, THIS is the one game that will develop your skills the fastest. So once in a while, take any mental math sum. (A multiplication usually offers the most permutations and thus the best practice.) See how many ways you can do it. Pull it apart, look at it from all angles. Nothing will give you a better feel for numbers.

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