Easy Mental Maths Tricks for Students

Mental maths helps students calculate faster, check answers and feel more confident. Here are simple tricks with examples you can practise today.

Addition tricks

1. Make tens

Look for numbers that add to 10. 7 + 5 + 3 → (7 + 3) + 5 = 15.

2. Round and adjust

48 + 27 → 50 + 27 = 77, then subtract 2 → 75.

3. Add in parts

36 + 47 → 30 + 40 = 70, 6 + 7 = 13, 70 + 13 = 83.

Subtraction tricks

4. Count up

100 − 67: count up from 67 to 70 (3), then to 100 (30). Answer: 33.

5. Round and adjust

84 − 29 → 84 − 30 = 54, then add 1 → 55.

Multiplication tricks

6. Multiply by 10 and 100

Add one zero for ×10 and two zeros for ×100 (for whole numbers): 34 × 10 = 340.

7. Multiply by 5

Multiply by 10 and halve: 26 × 5 → 260 ÷ 2 = 130.

8. Multiply by 9

Multiply by 10 and subtract the number: 7 × 9 → 70 − 7 = 63.

9. Doubling and halving

16 × 25 → 8 × 50 = 400.

10. Multiply by 11 (two-digit numbers)

Add the two digits and place the sum in the middle: 23 × 11 → 2 (2+3) 3 = 253. If the sum is 10 or more, carry the 1: 48 × 11 → 4 (12) 8 → 528.

Division tricks

11. Divide by 5

Double the number and divide by 10: 85 ÷ 5 → 170 ÷ 10 = 17.

How to practise

• Learn one trick per week.
• Practise with 5 quick questions daily.
• Use tricks to check written answers.
• Make it a family challenge at dinner.

Strong basics matter before tricks. If your child is still building foundations, see how to improve a child's maths confidence.

Build strong foundations

Our Basic Maths Offline course in Althan, Surat and Basic Maths Online course help learners strengthen their basic maths skills.