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Vedic Maths is based on sixteen sutras or principles. These principles are general in nature and can be applied in many ways. In practice many applications of the sutras may be learned and combined to solve actual problems. These tutorials will give examples of simple applications of the sutras, to give a feel for how the Vedic Maths system works. These tutorials do not attempt to teach the systematic use of the sutras. For more advanced applications and a more complete coverage of the basic uses of the sutras, we recommend you study one of the texts available.
N.B. The following tutorials are based on examples and exercises given in the book 'Fun with figures' by Kenneth Williams, which is a fun introduction some of the applications of the sutras for children.
If you are having problems using the tutorials then you could always read the instructions.
Tutorial 1
Tutorial 2
Tutorial 3
Tutorial 4
Tutorial 5
Tutorial 6
Tutorial 7
Use the formula ALL FROM 9 AND THE LAST FROM 10 to perform instant subtractions.
We simply take each figure in 357 from 9 and the last figure from
10.
So the
answer is 1000 - 357 = 643
And thats all there is to it!
This always works for subtractions from numbers consisting of a 1 followed
by noughts: 100; 1000; 10,000 etc.
So 1000 - 83 becomes 1000 - 083 = 917
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Using VERTICALLY AND CROSSWISE you do not need to the multiplication tables beyond 5 X 5.
8 is 2 below 10 and 7 is 3 below 10.
Think of it like this:
The answer is
56.
The diagram below shows how you get it.
You subtract crosswise 8-3 or 7 -
2 to get 5,
the first figure of the answer.
And you multiply vertically:
2 x 3 to get 6,
the last figure of the answer.
That's all you do:
See how far the numbers are below 10, subtract one
number's deficiency
from the other number, and
multiply the deficiencies together.
Here's how to use VERTICALLY AND CROSSWISE for multiplying numbers close to 100.
Not easy,you might think. But with
VERTICALLY AND CROSSWISE
you can give
the answer immediately, using the same method
as above.
Both 88 and 98 are close to 100.
88 is 12 below 100 and 98 is
2 below 100.
You can imagine the sum set out like this:
As before the 86 comes from
subtracting crosswise: 88
- 2 = 86
(or 98 - 12 = 86: you can subtract
either way, you will always
get
the same answer).
And the 24 in the answer is
just 12 x 2:
you multiply vertically.
So 88 x 98 = 8624
This is so easy it is just mental arithmetic.
Multiplying numbers just over 100.
The answer is in two parts: 107 and 12,
107 is just 103 + 4 (or 104 +
3),
and 12 is just 3 x 4.
107 + 6 = 113 and 7 x 6 = 42
Again, just for mental arithmetic
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The easy way to add and subtract fractions.
Use VERTICALLY AND CROSSWISE to write the answer straight down!
Multiply crosswise and add to get the top of the answer:
2 x 5 = 10 and
1 x 3 = 3. Then 10 + 3 = 13.
The bottom of the fraction is just 3 x 5 =
15.
You multiply the bottom number together.
Subtracting is just as easy: multiply crosswise as before, but the subtract:
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A quick way to square numbers that end in 5 using the formula BY ONE MORE THAN THE ONE BEFORE.
752 means 75 x 75.
The answer is in two parts: 56 and
25.
The last part is always 25.
The first part is the first
number, 7, multiplied by the number "one more", which is 8:
so 7 x 8 =
56
Method for multiplying numbers where the first figures are the same and the last figures add up to 10.
Both numbers here start with 3 and the last
figures (2 and 8) add up to
10.
So we just multiply 3 by 4 (the next number up)
to get 12 for the
first part of the answer.
And we multiply the last figures: 2 x 8 = 16 to
get the last part
of the answer.
Diagrammatically:
We put 09 since we need two figures as in all the other examples.
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An elegant way of multiplying numbers using a simple pattern.
This is normally called long multiplication but
actually the answer can
be written straight down
using the VERTICALLY AND CROSSWISE
formula.
We first put, or imagine, 23 below 21:
There are 3 steps:
a) Multiply vertically on the left: 2 x 2 =
4.
This gives the first figure of the
answer.
b) Multiply crosswise and add: 2 x 3 + 1 x 2 =
8
This gives the middle figure.
c)
Multiply vertically on the right: 1 x 3 =
3
This gives the last figure of the
answer.
And thats all there is to it.
Multiply any 2-figure numbers together by mere mental arithmetic!
If you want 21 stamps at 26 pence each you can
easily find the total price
in your head.
There were no carries in the method given above.
However, there only
involve one small extra step.
The method is the same as above
except that we get a 2-figure number, 14, in the
middle step, so the 1 is carried over to the left
(4 becomes 5).
So 21 stamps cost £5.46.
There may be more than one carry in a sum:
Vertically on the left we get 12.
Crosswise gives us 24, so we carry 2
to the left
and mentally get 144.
Then vertically on the right we get 12 and the 1
here is carried over to
the 144 to make 1452.
Any two numbers, no matter how big, can be
multiplied in one line by this
method.
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Multiplying a number by 11.
To multiply any 2-figure number by 11 we just put
the total of the two
figures between the 2 figures.
Notice that the outer figures in 286 are the 26
being multiplied.
And the middle figure is just 2 and 6 added up.
This involves a carry figure because 7 + 7 = 14
we get 77 x 11 =
7147 = 847.
We put the 2 and the 4 at the ends.
We add the first pair 2 + 3 =
5.
and we add the last pair: 3 + 4 = 7.
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Method for diving by 9.
The first figure of 23 is 2, and this is the answer.
The remainder is
just 2 and 3 added up!
The first figure 4 is the answer
and 4 + 3 = 7 is the remainder - could
it be easier?
The answer consists of 1,4 and 8.
1 is just the
first figure of 134.
4 is the total of the first two figures 1+ 3 =
4,
and 8 is the total of all three figures 1+ 3 + 4 = 8.
Actually a remainder of 9 or more is not usually
permitted because we
are trying to find how
many 9's there are in 842.
Since the remainder, 14 has one more 9 with 5
left over the final answer
will be 93 remainder 5
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Instructions
for
using the tutorials
Each tutorial has test sections comprising of several questions each. Next to each question is a box (field) into which you can enter the answer to the question. Select the first question in each test with the mouse to start a test. Enter the answer for the question using the numeric keys on the keyboard. To move to the answer field of the next question in the test, press the 'TAB' key. Moving to the next question, will cause the answer you entered to be checked, the following will be displayed depending on how you answered the question :-
Correct
Wrong
Answer has more than one part (such as fractions and those answers with remainders). Answering remaining parts of the question, will determine whether you answered the question correctly or not.
Some browsers will update the answer on 'RETURN' being pressed, others
do not. Any problems stick to the 'TAB' key. Pressing 'SHIFT TAB' will
move the cursor back to the answer field for the previous question.
The button will clear all
answers from the test and set the count of correct answers back to zero.
N.B. JavaScript is used to obtain the interactive nature of these tutorials. If you cannot get this to work then try the text/picture based version of this tutorial.
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