Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 5: Adding Small Numbers
• Method 2 of 5: Adding Large Numbers
• Method 3 of 5: Adding Decimals
• Method 4 of 5: Adding Fractions
• Method 5 of 5: Tricky Additions
• Tips
• Warnings

Addition is one of the few skills we learned in school, and it really came in handy in our lives. Fortunately, addition is not that hard to learn. There are several rules for adding, depending on the kinds of numbers you are adding, but wikiHow does it all for you. Just go to the first point!

Steps

Method 1 of 5: Adding Small Numbers

1. 1 First, grasp the principle of addition. Take a handful of beans (or other small items). Stack the beans in a pile while counting (1, 2, 3, etc.) After the pile grows, stop. How many pieces did you put in there? Write down this number. Now do the same, but put the beans in a different pile. Then mix both piles together. How many do you have now? You can count the beans one by one and find out! This is addition!
   • For example, let's say the first pile contains 5 beans. The second contains 3 beans. When you mixed the piles and counted all the beans, you have 8! This is because 5 + 3 is 8.
2. 2 Learn number pairs. Since most people count with decimal sets and numbers that are divisible by ten, you can use an easier method - learn the number pairs that add up to ten. For example: 1 + 9, 2 + 8, 3 + 7, 4 + 6 and 5 + 5.
3. 3 Make number pairs yourself. Match as many number pairs as possible in order to get decimal sets.
   • Suppose you need to add a series of numbers like 2, 16, 9, 3, 5, 18. You can add 18 and 2 to get 20. 4 fits 6, so subtract 4 from 5, add to 16, and you get 20. You are left with one of 5, which you can add to 9 in order to get 10.
4. 4 Add up the rest of the numbers. Count the remaining numbers with your fingers or in your head, starting with the decimal sets that you already know.
   • In the previous example, after you've counted 50, you have only 3. It's very easy to calculate in your head!
5. 5 Check the result again with your fingers! If possible, you can always double-check the answer with your fingers or another method.

Method 2 of 5: Adding Large Numbers

1. 1 Learn the arrangement of numbers. When you write numbers, each number in the chain has its own form or name. If you understand how to line up the numbers correctly, it will be easier for you to add them. For example:
   • 2, if it is by itself, should be in place of "units".
   • At 20, the deuce should be in the tenth place.
   • At 200, a deuce is in place of the “hundredths”.
   • Consequently, in number 365, five will be in the place of ones, six - in the place of tenths, and three hundredths.
2. 2 Arrange the numbers in a chain. Arrange the numbers in a row so that each integer you add is on top of the next. With the help of "places after decimal" you can arrange numbers in a chain so that each subsequent number is located above the previous one. Leave some space on the left if any of the numbers are smaller than the others. For example, when adding 16, 4, and 342, they should be positioned like this:
   • 342
   • _16
   • __4
3. 3 Add the numbers in the first column. Start adding the numbers on the far right of the column.Once you calculate the amount (how much you got after adding the numbers), write this number under the numbers that you added, at the bottom of the column where the single primes are.
   • In our example above, adding 2, 6, and 4 makes 12. Write the last digit 12 - 2 from the bottom of the rightmost column.
4. 4 Keep tens in mind. If you have a number left to write in the tenth column, write it down on top of the next column (on the left).
   • In this example, we have a number to fit in the tenths column, so write 1 of 12 on top of the middle column, i.e. over 4 out of 342.
5. 5 Count the numbers in the next column. Move on to the next column and add up all the numbers, including the ones you had in mind after the previous step. Write down the resulting number at the bottom of the column, keeping tens in mind, as in the previous step.
   • In this example, we have 1 in 12, plus 4 in 342 and 1 in 16. This adds up to 6.
6. 6 Calculate how much you get in the answer. Repeat these steps, moving from right to left from column to column, until you have counted the numbers in each chain. The number that appears at the bottom is the answer.
   • In this example, the answer is 362.

Method 3 of 5: Adding Decimals

1. 1 Arrange the numbers with decimal fractions in a chain. If you have a number with a decimal in front of you (for example, 24.5), you should be a little careful when adding such numbers in a column. The subtlety lies in the fact that you need to arrange all numbers containing decimal fractions in a chain. Decimal fractions must be in their own column. For example:
   • 107.8
   • _24.5
   • __3.2
   • _15.0
2. 2 Add a decimal if it is not in the number. If there is no decimal point in the number, put it in and write zeros to the right of it to keep the columns.
   • In the above example, there was no zero after 15, it was added to make it easier to distinguish between the columns.
3. 3 Add the rest of the numbers in the usual order. Once you have arranged the numbers in a chain, start adding them as usual.
   • The answer in this example would be 150.5.

Method 4 of 5: Adding Fractions

1. 1 Find a common denominator. The denominator is the number under the fraction. You need to find a common denominator in order to add the fractions. This is done by multiplying (or dividing) both the upper and lower fractions until the lower numbers of both fractions are equal. For example, let's say you decide to add 1/8 and 3/4:
   • You need to equalize 8 and 4. How can you turn 4 into 8, you ask? Multiplying by 2!
   • Multiply 3 and 4 from 3/4. Then you get 6/8.
2. 2 Add up the numerators. The numerator is the number above the common fraction. Now that you have 1/8 and 6/8, add 1 and 6 to make 7.
3. 3 Find out the answer. Take the resulting numerators and write them over the denominator. Leave the denominator unchanged. This means that the sum of the fractions is 7/8.
4. 4 Simplify the fraction. If you want to make the fraction easier to read, you will have to divide or multiply its numerator and denominator by the same number. In our example, we don't need to simplify it. This number is already quite small. But if your fraction is, say, 3/6, you can abbreviate it.
   • To do this, you need to find the smallest number that divides both the numerator and the denominator. In this example, it is 3. Divide each number by 3 in order to get a reduced fraction, in this case 1/2.

Method 5 of 5: Tricky Additions

1. 1 Try to use lighter numbers. If you've only had a few numbers that don't fit well with 10's, you can add or subtract specific numbers to make it easier for you to count them in your head. For example, let's say you want to do the following: 19 + 30. It would be much easier to add 20 + 30, wouldn't it? So add 1 to 19! And then all you have to do is subtract the number that you added in order to get the final amount. Therefore, 19 + 1 + 30 = 50 and 50 - 1 = 49.
2. 2 Break the numbers into sets or round numbers. Similar to the number pairing discussed in the first step, try to find groups of numbers that add up to 5 or 10 (or 50, 100, 500, 1000, etc.) Add these groups to make your task easier.
   • For example, if 7 + 1 + 2 = 10 and 2 + 3 = 5, then adding 1 + 2 + 2 + 3 + 7 adds up to 15.
3. 3 Add them in parts. Divide the units and tens into parts in order to make it easier for you to work with numbers, adding the tens first, and only then the ones. Some find it easier to add, for example, 40 + 30 + 10 and then 2 + 5 + 7 instead of 42 + 35 + 17.
4. 4 Use the forms of numbers. If you want to quickly add numbers in your head without resorting to columns and groups of numbers, you can use the forms of numbers for counting instead of relying on your fingers. This works best if you already have several numbers to add. For example:
   • Number 2 has two end vertices. This is similar to the number 3.
   • Numbers 4 and 5 contain corresponding numbers at the end of their vertices and joints, and the curved arc of the figure 5 can be considered as a joint.
   • In some numbers, such as 6, 7, 8 and 9, this is not so noticeable. The curve of numbers 6 and 9 can be decomposed into three points (upper, middle and lower), i.e. in 6 there will be two, and in 9 - three. Each side of the circle of the arc in the number 8 can be counted as 1 (4 in total), this figure should be multiplied by two to get 8. 7 can be decomposed into 3 points on the upper short side and 4 on the long side.

Tips

• If things are so bad that it becomes difficult for you to accurately count the numbers on paper (for example, 22 + 47), then you will have to learn more complex ways of adding.
• If the example is not complicated, and you are sure that the answer will be within 10 (as in the case of example 2 + 5), you can do without a pencil and paper by doing the calculations on your fingers.
• Once the child is comfortable with this technique, you can explain to him that it is not necessary to count from one, it is enough to start with the number given in the example. For example, 8 + 2. Just take two numbers and start counting from the next digit ... 8 ... 9, 10. This method will also allow you to operate on two numbers greater than 10 with your fingers, as long as the number that follows add, will not be less than or equal to 10.

Warnings

• Do not use a calculator while studying. You can use it to check your answers, but don't be tempted to use the calculator - solve the examples yourself. If you are addicted to a calculator, then you run the risk of getting into such an uncomfortable situation where you will need to add numbers, and you will not have a calculator at hand (for example, during a shopping trip you want to know if you have enough money for some some things ... or shoes ... or tools).