Math Mnemonics - Memory Tips

Mnemonic is a memory aid used to make a connection between what you know and what you want or need to know. Basically, take the first letter of a series of words and make a sentence. This article will share mnemonics and other memory tips for math, Pre-Algebra in particular.


**Place Value – to learn the group names from right to left –
Trillions, Billions, Millions, Thousands, Ones
From right to left:
Orangutans Tickle My Big Toe

These mnemonics were created by former students:
Our Teacher Must Break Through
One Too Many Baseball Teams
Place value from Ones to Billions – (One Too Many Bills)



** Front End Rounding
The word front means to round to the front number’s place value.
Example: “ 354” – would round to the hundreds place
“ 36” would round to the tens place



**Rounding
Example: round 463 to the tens place
The “6” is in the tens place; look at the next number to determine whether to change the “6” to a “7” or leave it as a “6”.

Memory tip: if the next number is five or more, go next door (meaning go to the next number)

Instructify.com voted learnmegood2.blogspot.com ‘s “Punch it up” as their best mnemonic.
Basically, you need five fingers to make a fist and to punch it up. For instance, 467 rounded to the tens place requires us to analyze the “7”. Seven fingers will make more than a fist, thus you can “punch it up to “470.” For more details read, http://instructify.com/category/mnemonic/



**Multiplying and Dividing with Negative numbers
Compute two numbers at a time – same signs – the result is positive
- Different signs – the result is negative
- Two negatives make a positive
OR
Ignore signs and just multiply or divide. Then, count the number of negative signs.
An odd number of negative signs - the result is negative
An even number of negative signs – the result is positive



**Adding with Negative Numbers

Different signs – Find theDifference
Alike Signs – Add



**Subtracting with Negative Numbers
Change /Transform into an addition problem and follow addition rules
Transform by changing two things
- change subtraction operand to an addition operand
- change the sign of the next number
- Example: -3 – 5 = -3 + (-5)
Memory tip to remember how to transform – “Add a Line … Change a Sign”

More to come...