In not being able to do my 10 year olds math homework!

[Livesforbedtime]

I don't understand this.. She has to work out 23 x 22..

Now I'm not the sharpest pencil in the box, but I have a degree and a responsible job... So WHY when I worked it out as:

20 x 20 = 400
2 x 3 = 6

Answer = 406

But it's not is it? It's 506.. But I don't understand why

My poor 10 year old DD is bewildered.. And I cannot understand why I'm wrong yet I know I am!

I suspect it have a mind block... Yes that's it.. I'm not truly stupid ok I might be..

It doesn't make sense!

And yes Kim, in answer to your question my son could give an accurate estimate quite quickly by working it out in his head (probably quicker than most adults because he never uses a calculator so hasn't developed lazy habits).
His mental arithmetic is admittedly better and faster than mine, but I am faster than him when working things out on paper.

It depends what you do for a job - I used to work in accounts and so maths was my real world.

Re Kim's 75 x 62. I am 46 and went to school in Scotland the way we were taught was this:-
75 x
62

150 when you go into the next calculation you put a zero in the
4500 unit column, so basically a two step multiplication in 75 x 2
___ = 150 then in your new line put a 0 in the units column and
4650 do 75 x 6.

Sorry lining up there didn't work properly.

Yes I could have used a calculator when I worked in accounts or a spreadsheet but when the computers are down and everyone has buggered off with the few precious calculators one needed to use the traditional fail safe paper and brain method.

After reading that a beautician (British and residing in Britain) with a GCSE in English has tweeted "why is our president Baracco Barner getting involved with Russia and Ukraine" I am more convinced than ever that we have to teach children basic old fashioned methods in everything and return to teaching them how to think and do things without modern equipment .
She has gone viral and is now in hiding. If only she had learnt the basics at school.......

When I was kid, my Dad (who has an engineering degree from a US Ivy League) used to joke to his mates after helping (confusing!) us kids with math that the answers were all the same but they'd changed the questions. I used to wish he would shut up. But, now, I totally get the joke.

I think Kumon does an excellent job of teaching young children good old fashioned math (columns, long division, and so on). It's a pity they don't offer parent classes.

I've just looked at the method on Youtube.

DD could do this, despite not knowing her tables, but with larger numbers you will have to do more than count the lines, as you'd have, say, 11 units, 12 tens etc

You'd have to know that the answer you would get would have too many digits to be plausible, and then figure out how to make it work. I'm interested in seeing if she could solve it actually Poor DD

You need to suggest to the school they do an evening for parents to explain methods used in Mathematics. They certainly different to those we used. Sometimes, though, the homework is a bit baffling. I twice took Year 6 work in to work for one of the Maths fellows to look, and it wasn't immediately obvious to them what the question entailed.

and math is fine by the way.... short for mathematics - which is actually singular... so math is a correct shortening....

(The word “mathematics” comes from using the plural form of a name of a field of study as a singular noun, as in the case of “physics,” “linguistics” and many others.)

There is a much easier way to do this particular question.

When you multiply a two-digit number by eleven, shove the two numbers apart and put their total in between. [NB this only works up to a point but it's far enough to get through primary school]

Eg 53 x 11 = 583 - you've shoved the 5 and the 3 apart, then put their total between them.

42 x 11 = 462… you get the picture.

So to do it x22, you just do the easy easy x11 and then double it.

Your question is 23 x 22.

23 x 11 = 253, double it is 506.

What's wrong with long multiplication? Nice and simple. This grid method thing seems insanely complicated

And wtf is Smile maths?

I totally rely on CGP books when it comes to Maths. We're only working at key stage two at the moment and some of it has me baffled. :(

I meant Key Stage One. I'm dreading Key Stage Two!!!!

I never cease to be amazed at the lack of numeracy skills shown by people working tills and assuming the answer they give will always be correct. Numerous times I have questioned the total, knowing it cannot be correct because I have estimated the total, or actually totted it up while I've been picking up the items. eg 2 things at £1.99 each, and 2 things at 95p each, and something's been programmed incorrectly so the till says £9.50 please. They look at you like you are daft when you say it can't be right, make you feel awkward insisting they check they prices etc. It works both ways, I've pointed out when waitresses etc have not added in the right number of meals - once they charged us just for the 2 adult meals and pudds, plus drinks for 5 of us - they had no idea at all that they had missed off 3 x £6.49 kids meal deals worth about £20. But straight away we knew that the price we were told could NOT be the full 2 course meal plus drinks for 5 of us.

Did she use it to calculate med dosages