How useful is mental math?

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InquilineKea
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Joined: Sun Mar 21, 2010 9:07 pm

How useful is mental math?

Post by InquilineKea » Sat Jun 18, 2011 2:11 pm

Since we're not allowed to use a calculator.

I know that you can answer that by going through a practice test, but I'm not going to open up any practice tests yet (while I'm still solidifying my fundamentals)

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HappyQuark
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Re: How useful is mental math?

Post by HappyQuark » Sat Jun 18, 2011 4:51 pm

Very useful.

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InquilineKea
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Re: How useful is mental math?

Post by InquilineKea » Sat Jun 18, 2011 5:47 pm

Okay. So (for anyone who wishes to answer), what types of mental math do a significant fraction of GRE-takers miss out on - that could help them on the test?

Thanks!

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WhoaNonstop
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Re: How useful is mental math?

Post by WhoaNonstop » Sat Jun 18, 2011 9:33 pm

InquilineKea wrote:Okay. So (for anyone who wishes to answer), what types of mental math do a significant fraction of GRE-takers miss out on - that could help them on the test?

Thanks!
Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division

-Riley

gertrude616
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Joined: Mon Oct 24, 2011 9:55 am

Re: How useful is mental math?

Post by gertrude616 » Mon Oct 24, 2011 9:56 am

I think mental arithmetic may have some limited uses, e.g: card games and tricks, but in higher mathematics it helps in solving long involved computations. For example when dealing with astronomical quantities where approximations are useful the actual values wqill probably expressed as powers of ten, but the mental arithmetic will tell you if you're in the right ball park, versus by an exponential amount. ADS Press



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