Vedic Mathematics/Techniques

Vedic Mathematics
Previous: Sutras	Techniques	Next: Addition And Subtraction

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Introduction

Whether you believe the stories surrounding the source of the Vedic Mathematics techniques or not, what is important are the techniques themselves. By mastering these techniques you will not only radically improve your numeracy and arithmetic ability, you will also begin to understand that mathematics is a fluid and fascinating subject in which there are usually many different ways to solve any particular problem. You will see that many of the tedious algorithms that you were taught in school, (e.g. long division and multiplication), are but one way to solve a problem. While these 'school' techniques are often general purpose, (e.g. long multiplication allows you to multiply any pair of numbers), in many cases they are very inefficient; their very generality means they have to cover all possibilities and so can't take advantage of the specifics of any particular problem. If instead you use a technique optimised for the particular problem you are working on, you can take advantage of properties that aren't always present in the general case and so solve the problem with a lot less work

It should be noted that, although many of the following techniques may be contained in the 1965 book Vedic Mathematics by Sri Bharati Krsna Tirthaji, they are not unique to that book. Many of the techniques are also part of other arithmetic systems, (e.g. the Trachtenberg system), and most are common knowledge among those who enjoy the challenge of mental arithmetic. In fact the term 'Vedic Mathematics' is now sometimes used to encompass the general idea of solving arithmetic problems with a wide range of different techniques, each optimised for particular circumstances, these techniques not being limited to those in Sri Bharati Krsna Tirthaji's book.

So, do you want to know how to multiply 89 and 97 in your head in seconds? The solution is given below:-

1. First solve 9×7, ie, 63.(Carry over 6){Let 3 here be z}
2. Do cross multiplication & add the carried over no. done in previous step, ie solve (8×7)+(9×9)+6), ie, 143.(Carry over 14){Let 3 here be y}
3. Then solve (8×9)+14, ie, 86.{Let 86 be x}
4. Then join x, y & z to form xyz, ie, here xyz will be 8633.

Further, there is another technique to solve this problem.

Table of contents

1. Addition And Subtraction
2. Multiplication
3. Division

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Vedic Mathematics
Previous: Sutras	Techniques	Next: Addition And Subtraction