2011 Lightning Calculation Calendar

Lightning
Calculation
Fast mental techniques
for arithmetic operations
and elementary functions
A 2011
Calendar
Notes
Introduction
The art of lightning calculation reveals

the remarkable potential of the mind.
Individuals with preternatural abilities to calculate arithmetic results without pen, paper or other
instruments, and to do so at astonishing speed, are the stuff of mathematical and psychological
lore. These lightning calculators were sometimes of limited mental ability, sometimes illiterate
but of average intelligence, and often exceptionally bright, this despite the popular notion of the
idiot savant. The techniques used by these people are not generally well known.
The history of lightning calculators is interesting from a human standpoint, but its perhaps more
intriguing because the methods they learned or developed are uniquely suited for fast mental calculation.
These methods are different from the ones taught in school for pencil-and-paper solution, and therefore
most people are quite surprised when they find out that other algorithms such as these exist.
Arthur F.
Griffith
(1880-1911)
The types of calculations performed by lightning calculators were historically quite limited, notable mainly for the
size of the numbers and the speed at which they were manipulated. But remember that the questioner had to
verify every calculation by hand, making higher powers and roots (particularly inexact roots) much less feasible.
The dawn of calculators and computers propelled some of these tasks into hitherto uncharted territories such as
13th or 23rd roots, deep roots of inexact powers, and so forth, much of it supported by more sophisticated
mathematics. In this calendar we will explore the methods of calculation
used in the past, many of them not commonly known, as well as other
techniques that are relatively new.
Each month in this calendar is devoted to a different type of

mental calculation. Exercises are provided within the dates
displayed for each month, as described in the Legend for
that month. The answers are contained within the boxes
connected with the dates involved, but small enough that
they are not visible from a distance. Every day starting in
February also poses a day-date calculation, a very popular
pastime of current and historical mental calculators that is discussed below.
The answers here are coded in a simple manner to avoid spoiling your fun! The
calendar format naturally encourages daily exercise, but I encourage you to skip
ahead to other days and months. After all, the topic of a particular month may not
appeal to you, and in any event if you work ahead you will be able to breeze
through the exercises when you get there.
My philosophy on mental calculation:
It is important to realize that lightning calculators were highly

individual in how they approached these tasks, and most
calculators have such a vast knowledge of number facts that
answers are often obtained immediately from memory or following
only slight adjustment. As one example, Wim Klein learned through
experience the multiplication table through 100x100 and used it to
great advantage doing cross-multiplication in 2-digit by 2-digit
groups. He also knew squares of integers up to 1000, cubes up to
100, and roughly all primes below 10,000. He also knew logarithms
to 5 digits for integers up to 150. Sometimes calculators used a
mnemonic scheme, often of their own design, to help remember
these number facts. Use whatever knowledge you can muster!
1. Numbers are not just collections of digits;

they have properties that can be exploited
2. It helps greatly to work from left-to-right.
3. Try to use convenient numbers near the
actual ones and correct the result at the end.
4. Have confidence! Dont limit yourself by saying its too hard.
Dont worry about speed at firstjust completing a calculation
is often a real achievement, and speed comes naturally with practice.
Have a happy 2011!

Ron Doerfler (doerfpub@myreckonings.com)
www.myreckonings.com/wordpress
Using the Calendar
There are 3958 mental calculation exercises in this calendar.

Thought you would want to know that.
Legend
This calendar is packed with challenging mental calculations!
We will explore a different field of mental calculation each
month .The upper half of each calendar page describes
methods that can be used to solve problems of that month,
and the lower half offers opportunities to test yourself and
practice these techniques daily using the actual dates shown
in the calendar. Of course, you should feel free to try all the
dates at once, or bounce around between months, or do
whatever you want. After all, this is all for fun!
In nearly all cases the answers are provided right in the
calendar itself. Thats where the legend comes in. Every
month includes a legend that describes how the dates are
used in the calculations. The calculations in some months
use 3- or 4-digit numbers , and in that case the legend
describes how to form those numbers from the 2-digit dates.
144
1849
5329
12
Feb 12
1994
The boxes contain products of the connected dates.

Blue End: Double the date Red End: Triple the date
Two-Date
Rules
Example for the box at the bottom:
12^2
43^2
73^2
12
1. Left date: Blue end 2 x 18 = 36

2. Right date: Blue end 2 x 12 = 24
Nov 12
1799
3. 36 x 24 = 864 (answer in box)
(08)
18^2 = 324
SingleDate
Rules
Add 31: 18 + 31 = 49
49^2 = 2401
Add 61: 18 + 61 = 79
79^2 = 6241
Day of the Week Code: Add to the date,

sum the digits, check day-code table:
18 + 09 = 27, 2 + 7 = 9
Jan 18, 1925, was a Sunday
18^2
49^2
79^2
18
Jan 18
1925
(09)
12 + 08 = 20
2+0=2
Nov 12, 1799,
was a
Tuesday
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
The answers for calculations that involve pairs of dates appear in

boxes that connect the two dates, or connect a date on the edge of
the calendar to a date printed next to it. These answers are printed
in very small font to avoid revealing them too readily. Since it
would be too easy to accidentally detect the answer for the day of
the week in the calendar calculations (on months after January ), a
simple code based on the date is used. This is consistent
throughout the year but is described in the legend for every month.
(12)
324
2401
6241
18
May 18
2022
(12)
So take a minute to look over the legend for a typical month shown above
along with the corresponding date blocks on the left. The colored end of each
box is a key to the operation to perform first on the date at that end of the box.
Here we are told to double the date if a tip is blue and triple it if it is red, then
multiply it by the result of the operation on the date at the other end of the
box. Sometimes the colored ends add values to the date rather than double or
triple them, so please look at the legend for before starting a month. Here we
also square the date, (date + 31), and (date + 61), and those answers are
shown right above the date. Its all much easier than you might think at first.
Finding the Day of the Week is a very common task.
Day-Date Calendar Calculations

Pericles
Diamandi
(1868-?)
visualized a
table with a
rotating grille
for day-date
calculations.
Every day after January contains a date between

the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in Britain
and its colonies (1752) and the year 2099. What
day of the week does that date fall on?
The answer is found from a simple code
described in the Legend for each month.
Shown here are two common methods used by
lightning calculators for day-date calculations.
Doomsday Method: Find a nearby doomsday and adjust it.

Days are numbered 0-6 for Sunday-Saturday.
Each century has a Doomsday for its first year:
1700,2100,2500,
1800,2200,2600,
1900,2300,2700,
2000,2400,2800,
Sunday (0)
Friday (5)
Wednesday (3)
Tuesday (2)
For y = last two digits of the year you are calculating,
The Doomsday
method was
invented by John
Conway in 1982
where [ ] means to round down to the integer and R is the remainder of [y/12]. Subtract
multiples of 7 to get a number less than 7 to find the Doomsday for your year.
Jan 31/32
Jul 11
Feb 28/29
Aug 8
Mar 7
Sep 5
Apr 4
Oct 10
May 9
Nov 7
Jun 6
Dec 12
Then remember the table of dates that fall on the Doomsday and
calculate the difference for the date you are calculating, or use this:
For M = the number of the month, Doomsday is
-
The last day of February and January (where Jan 32 = Feb 1)

M for an even month
M+4 for an odd month with 31 days
M-4 for an odd month with 30 days
Work from 9 to 5 at the 7-11 for Sep 5, May 9, July 11 and Nov 7
Doomsday is Monday for 2011.

May 17, 1889: Anchor = 5
[89/12] = 7 with remainder R= 5
[5/4] = 1 and forget the remainder
7+5+1+5 = 18, subtract 14 to get 4, so the Doomsday for 1889 is Thursday
So May 9 is a Thursday, and May 17 is 8 days later, or a Friday.
Tip: Every 12 years the Doomsday repeats, so we can simplify: y 89 84 = 5
Zellers Congruence: A straightforward calculation.
Mechanical
d = day of week numbered 0-6 for Saturday-Friday

n = day of the month
m = month (3-14, where Jan/Feb are 13/14 of the previous year)
y = last two digits of the year (or previous year if m = 13 or 14)
C = first two digits of the year
where [ ] means to round down to the integer and mod 7 indicates the
remainder when divided by 7. To simplify the addition we can find this
remainder for each term as we go.
May 17, 1889:
d=
3 (since 17 mod 7 = 3)
+ 1 (since 6x26/10 mod 7 = 1)
+ 5 (since 89 mod 7 = 5)
+ 1 (since 89/4 mod 7 = 1)
+ 4 (since 18/4 mod 7 = 2)
1 (since 2x18 mod 7 = 1)
= 13 mod 7 = 6, or a Friday
You probably know the

day of the week for
many personal, family
and historical events.
Calculate from one of
these if it is convenient!
Some Historical Date Exercises in this Calendar

Jul 4, 1776
Feb 4, 1789
Jul 14, 1789
Dec 2, 1804
Sep 16, 1810
Nov 19, 1863
Apr 14, 1865
Jul 1, 1867
Jan 1, 1901
Dec 17, 1903
Apr 15, 1912
Nov 7, 1917
Nov 4, 1922
May 21, 1927
Mar 12, 1930
May 6, 1937
Dec 7, 1941
Jun 6, 1944
May 8, 1945
Aug 6, 1945
Aug 15, 1947
May 14, 1948
May 29, 1953
Feb 6, 1952
Oct 4, 1957
Aug 28, 1963
Nov 22, 1963
Apr 4, 1968
Jul 21, 1969
Apr 26, 1986
Jun 4, 1989
Nov 9, 1989
Oct 3, 1990
Feb 1, 2003
Dec 21, 2012
Apr 13, 2029
Jan 19, 2038
United States Independence

George Washington elected
Storming of the Bastille
Napoleon declares himself emperor
Mexico Cry of Independence
Gettysburg Address
Abraham Lincoln assassinated
Canada Independence
Australia Independence
Wright brother's first powered flight
Titanic sinks
Bolshevik Revolution
Howard Carter discovers King Tut's tomb
Charles Lindbergh lands in Paris
Gandhi begins Dandi Salt March
Hindenburg disaster
Pearl Harbor
D-Day
Victory in Europe
Hiroshima
India Independence
Israel Independence
Edmund Hillary / Tenzing Norgay reach Mt. Everest summit
Elizabeth II becomes queen
Sputnik launched
March on Washington / ML King "I Have a Dream" speech
John F. Kennedy assassinated
Martin Luther King assassinated
First man on the moon
Chernobyl disaster
Tiananmen Square massacre
Fall of Berlin Wall
Reunification of Germany
Challenger space shuttle disaster
Mayan calendar ends
Asteroid Apophos near-miss of Earth
Unix time ends
2-Digit Multiplication
Multiplication is the most common and useful type of lightning

calculation. There are a variety of methods you can choose among
to instantly find the product of any pair of two-digit numbers.
In one performance, Maurice Dagbert (1913-1995) extracted a

fifth root (answer: 243) in 14 seconds; a seventh root
(answer: 125) in 15 seconds; a cube root (answer: 78,517) in
2 minutes 15 seconds; a fifth root (answer: 2189) in 2
minutes 3 seconds; and raised 827 to its cube in 55 seconds.
Mechanical Methods
Partial Products are the combinations of the
individual digit multiplications. They are added from
left to right to find the product:
46 x 58 = 40x50 + 40x8 + 6x50 + 6x8
= 2000 + 320 + 300 + 48
= 2668
The terms are added as they are calculated, so when 40x8 is calculated, it is
added to 2000 to get 2320, then 6x50 is added to get 2620, and finally 6x8 is
added to yield 2668. Fast, with only one running total to remember!
Good Neighbor Method: Is one of the numbers near
a very round number? Multiply by the round number instead

and adjust for the difference at the end:
29x34 = 30x34 34 = 986
42x56 = 40x56 + 2x56 = 2352
To find 30x34 here, we would multiply from left to right: 30x30 + 30x4 = 1020. Then
subtract 40 and add 6 to subtract 34. In the second example, 40x56 = 40x50 + 40x6 =
2240, and add 2x56 = 112.
Is a number a multiple of 9 or 11? Use nearby multiple of 10 and subtract or add 1/10:
44x52: Find 40x52 = 2080, then 2080 + 208 = 2288
36x52: Find 40x52 = 2080, then 2080 208 = 1872 (subtract 200, then 8 more!)
12 x 13 = 10x15 + 2x3 = 156
52x64 = 50x66 + 2x14 = 3328

97x92 = 100x89 + 3x8 = 8924
37x45 = 40x42 - 3x5 = 1665
Easily scaled to larger numbers, but the answer is found

from right to left so it must be reversed to recite it.
5
3
8
1
6
26 6 8
Becoming Neighbors: Bringing two multipliers nearer can

sometimes allow use of other methods. For example:
1. Subtract one number from a very round number (or add it to a very
round number) to bring it closer to the other number:
23x67 = 23(10033) = 2300 23x33 = 2300 (20x36 + 3x13)
2. Divide or multiply one number by a low integer and add a correction:
23x 67 = 23x33x2 + 23 = 2(20x36 + 3x13) + 23
18 x 16 = 20x14 + 2x4 = 288
This is much easier to use than it might

appear! Visualize anchoring one
multiplier at the round number, and then
literally stringing out the differences
(plus or minus) of the original numbers
from this anchor to find the other
multiplier. If the differences have the
same sign, the correction at the end will
be added, and if one is positive and the
other is negative the correction will be
subtracted.
46 x 58:
1:
6x8 = 48 , or 8 with a carry of 4
2: 4x8 + 6x5 + 4 = 66 , or 6 with a carry of 6
3:
4x5 + 6 = 26
Answer: 2668
3. Break one number into two convenient parts:

23x67 = 23(50+17) = 2300/2 + 23x17 = 1150 + 202 32
TIPS
The two most common

techniques used by
lightning calculators
Legend
connected dates.
Blue End: Double the date
18 x 24 = 20x22 2x4 = 432
12
The boxes contain products of the
Red End: Triple the date
19 x 12
38 x 12
57 x 12
57 x 36
38 x 36
38 x 24
Anchor Method: Anchor one multiplier

at a nearby round number a, and then
string out the differences (plus or minus)
of the original numbers from this anchor
to find the other multiplier. Then add the
product of the differences. Algebraically
this is represented as
Cross Multiplication adds single-digit products that contribute to each digit

of the result, including carries:
Example for the rightmost box here:

1. Bottom date: Blue end 2 x 19 = 38
2. Top date: Blue end 2 x 12 = 24
more multiplication methods in

Februarys Calendar---take a look!
3. 38 x 24 = 912 (answer in box)
19
Sunday
Monday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 24 26
27 28
01
8
16
24
72
48
32
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 31
37
27
28
02
09
330
660
990
2970
1980
1320
135
270
405
1215
810
540
352
704
1056
3168
2112
1408
16
638
1276
1914
5742
3828
2552
812
1624
2436
7308
4872
3248
29
31
32
33
34
35
36
38
16
32
48
144
96
64
120
240
360
1080
720
480
98
196
294
882
588
392
294
588
882
2646
1764
1176
756
1512
2268
6804
4536
3024
22
1044
2088
3132
9396
6264
4176
702
1404
2106
6318
4212
2808
21
462
924
1386
4158
2772
1848
980
1960
2940
8820
5880
3920
26
420
840
1260
3780
2520
1680
15
918
1836
2754
8262
5508
3672
650
1300
1950
5850
3900
2600
20
210
420
630
1890
1260
840
588
1176
1764
5292
3528
2352
380
760
1140
3420
2280
1520
14
08
858
1716
2574
7722
5148
3432
25
19
182
364
546
1638
1092
728
260
520
780
2340
1560
1040
228
456
684
2052
1368
912
342
684
1026
3078
2052
1368
13
07
56
112
168
504
336
224
800
1600
2400
7200
4800
3200
600
1200
1800
5400
3600
2400
156
312
468
1404
936
624
540
1080
1620
4860
3240
2160
18
12
06
42
84
126
378
252
168
78
156
234
702
468
312
60
120
180
540
360
240
44
88
132
396
264
176
198
396
594
1782
1188
792
408
816
1224
3672
2448
1632
930
1860
2790
8370
5580
3720
24
132
264
396
1188
792
528
450
900
1350
4050
2700
1800
306
612
918
2754
1836
1224
1178
2356
3534
10602
7068
4712
30
17
11
05
30
60
90
270
180
120
744
1488
2232
6696
4464
2976
552
1104
1656
4968
3312
2208
690
1380
2070
6210
4140
2760
23
110
220
330
990
660
440
170
340
510
1530
1020
680
272
544
816
2448
1632
1088
368
736
1104
3312
2208
1472
16
10
04
20
40
60
180
120
80
494
988
1482
4446
2964
1976
90
180
270
810
540
360
144
288
432
1296
864
576
09
03
12
24
36
108
72
48
30
60
90
270
180
120
18
36
54
162
108
72
02
6
12
18
54
36
24
1110
2220
3330
9990
6660
4440
JANUARY
Wednesday
February 2011
December 2010
S
Tuesday
667
1334
2001
6003
4002
2668
23
Squares and general multiplication share a strange

and productive relationship. Squares can be used to
greatly ease general multiplication, while general
multiplication can be used to greatly ease squaring.
Squares and 2-Digit Multiplication

Midpoint Method: One of the most powerful tools in mental
calculation is converting the multiplication of two different numbers
into the square of the average minus the square of the distance to the
average. This is the Midpoint Method, an algebraic identity:
Jedidiah Buxton (17071772)

was an illiterate lightning
calculator who once
calculated the product of a
farthing doubled 139 times.,
which expressed in pounds
has thirty-nine digits.
Very useful!
where a is the average of the two numbers, (a+c) is one of the
numbers, and (ac) is the other number. This is equivalent to the
Anchor Method when the anchor is midway between the two
multipliers. For example,
28x32 = 302 22
52x78 = 652 132
46 x 58 = 522 62
It is helpful to remember that the average squared will always

be larger than the spread numbers multiplied, so when
spreading a square to the product of two numbers you add
the correction, and when collapsing two multipliers to a
square you subtract the correction.
342 = (30+4)2 = 302 + 2x30x4 + 42 = 1156

692 = (701)2 = 702 2x70x1 + 12 = 4761
Special Neighbors: To find the square of a number near 50, add the
difference from 50 to 25, multiply by 100, and add the difference

squared. If the number is within 10 of 50, we can add the difference to
25 and simply append the distance squared rather than adding it. In
this notation,
=
=
=
=
Cool Facts: For squares of two-digit

numbers ending in 7, 8 or 9:
(10a+7)2 = 100a(a+1) + 40(a+1) + 9

(10a+8)2 = 100a(a+1) + 60(a+1) + 4
(10a+9)2 = 100a(a+1) + 80(a+1) + 1
652 = 60x70 + 52 = 4225

132 = 10x16 + 32 = 169
Very useful for

larger numbers
272
522
382
782
but in this particular case it may be easier to use

the Anchor Method (see January) to get
Reverse Midpoint Method: To calculate a square, we can

split it into the product of two numbers equidistant from the
original number, and add the square of that distance (one
scenario of the Anchor Method). For example, we can find
Binomial Expansion for Squares: We can express

the number to be squared as the sum of two other
numbers that are more easily squared:
(25+b)2 = (6 + b/2) | (25 + b2)

(50+b)2 = (25 + b) | b2
(75+b)2 = (56 + b + b/2) | (25 + b2)
28x33 = 28x32 + 28 = 302 22 + 28
28x33 = 30x31 2x3
An anchor of 100 is very common, say, 842 = 100x68 +

162. With an anchor of 100, we can find the value 68
simply by doubling 84 and using the last two digits of
the resulting 168 rather than by finding the difference
between 100 and 84 and subtracting this again from 84.
The vertical bar |

separates two-digit
groups. If we end up
with a 3-digit result in a
grouping, its most
significant digit would
be added to the group
to its left. A 0.5 in a
group adds 50 to the
group to its right.
No Midpoint Method: We might have the case

where there is no midpoint of the two multipliers
here we can adjust one of the multipliers by one,
do the calculation, and then provide a correction to
account for the original adjustment, as for
These follow from the

binomial expansions,
such as
(50+b)2 = 2500 + 100b + b2
(6 + 1) | (25 + 22) = 729

(25 + 2) | 22 = 2704
(2512) | 122 = 13 | 144 = 1444
(56 + 3 + 1.5) | (25 + 32) = 60.5 | 34 = 6084
Neighbors of Squares: Since (a+1)2 = a2 + a + (a+1), we can find 312 = 302 + 30 + 31 =
961. Similarly, 292 = 302 30 29 = 841. For other neighboring numbers we can find the
square of the convenient number, then add or subtract the original number, the final
number, and twice each number in between, so 322 = 302 + 30 + 2x31 + 32 = 1024. A
shortcut for squaring a number ending in 1 is a12 = a2 || (2xa) || 1 where || means to
limit the middle value to one digit by merging any upper digit to the left, as in 312 = 32 ||
6 || 1 = 961 or 612 = 62 || 12 || 1 = (36+1) || 2 || 1 = 3721.
where the red digits make up the squares

of the units digits.
792 = 5600 + 640 + 1 = 6241
872 = 7200 + 360 + 9 = 7569
Recognize the trick for squaring numbers ending in 5?

Multiply the number left of the units digit by that number
plus one, and then append 25, as in 652 = 6x7 | 25 = 4225.
Blue End: Double the date Red End: Triple the date
Two-Date
Rules
Legend
12^2
43^2
73^2
12

3. 36 x 24 = 864 (answer in box)
Nov 12
1799
(08)
18^2 = 324
SingleDate
Rules
Add 31: 18 + 31 = 49
49^2 = 2401
Add 61: 18 + 61 = 79
79^2 = 6241

18 + 09 = 27, 2 + 7 = 9
Jan 18, 1925, was a Sunday
18^2
49^2
79^2
18
12 + 08 = 20
2+0=2
Nov 12, 1799,
was a Tuesday
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Jan 18
1925
Fri
Sat
(09)
Sun
FEBRUARY
Sunday
Monday
28
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
1
1024
3844
4
1089
3969
9
1156
4096
16
1225
4225
25
1296
4356
01
02
03
04
05
June 1
1923
Dec 2
1804
Nov 3
2012
Feb 4
1789
Aug 5
1931
(22)
(16)
(21)
(08)
(25)
100
1681
5041
121
1764
5184
144
1849
5329
36
1369
4489
49
1444
4624
64
1521
4761
81
1600
4900
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
Jan 6
1834
July 7
1903
Mar 8
1825
Sept 9
2026
Apr 10
1986
Dec 11
1789
Feb 12
1994
(04)
(13)
(12)
(21)
(21)
(30)
(12)
169
1936
5476
196
2025
5625
225
2116
5776
256
2209
5929
289
2304
6084
324
2401
6241
361
2500
6400
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
Feb 13
2061
May 14
1948
Oct 15
1800
Aug 16
1768
Jan 17
1967
May 18
2022
Aug 19
1882
(14)
(09)
(06)
(04)
(03)
(12)
(05)
400
2601
6561
441
2704
6724
484
2809
6889
529
2916
7056
576
3025
7225
625
3136
7396
676
3249
7569
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
Dec 20
1897
Jul 21
2041
Mar 22
1845
Nov 23
1866
Feb 24
1814
Jan 25
1974
Nov 26
1854
(80)
(15)
(11)
(09)
(16)
(07)
(10)
729
3364
7744
784
3481
7921
27
28
Apr 27
2003
June 28
1778
(09)
(08)
35
29
30 30
31
36
13
20
March 2011
January 2011
M
06
33
32
01
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30 31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 24 26
27 28 29 30 31
Reciprocals and Division
We can usually manipulate divisions to 1-digit or 2-digit divisors

depending on the accuracy needed. Division is an important skill.
Salo Finkelstein (1896/7-?) was notable for his mental

addition and number memorization abilities, and was
one of the many lightning calculators who used cross
multiplication to calculate products of large numbers.
Simplify the Denominator: Try to reduce the denominator to an
integer of one or two digits and then do short division.
1. Shift decimal point:
4.657 / 0.07 = 465.7 / 7 = 66.53
2. Divide the numerator and denominator by low common factors:

0.2420 / 7.2 = 2.420 / 72 = 0.605 / 18 = 0.0336
3. Divide by low factors of the denominator:
0.605/18 = (0.605/2) / 9 = 0.3025 / 9 = 0.0336
35 / 36 = (35/6) / 6 = 5.833 / 6 = 0.9722
Friendly NeighborExact:
Adjust the Denominator: Adjust the denominator to a round number and then
adjust the numerator by the same percentage, or roughly so for an approximation:
247 / 119:
Adjusting 119 up to 120 is a change of about 1/120, so we adjust 247 by 2:
249 / 120 = 24.9 / 12 = 2.0750 Actual Value: 2.0756
For more accuracy, notice that 247 is twice 119 plus ~10%, so adjust 247 by 2.1:
24.91 / 12 = 2.0758
9152 / 3533:
Adjusting 3533 down to 3500 is a change of just less than 1%, so we adjust
9152 down by 91 for a first estimate:
9061 / 3500 = 9.062 / 3.5 = 18.124 / 7 = 2.5889
Since 1% of 3500 = 35 rather than 33, an error of 2/3500 6/10000, we should
adjust 9061 down by 6 more to get a more accurate answer:
9065 / 3500 = 9.065 / 3.5 = 18.130 / 7 = 2.5900 Actual Value: 2.5904
Friendly NeighborApproximation: For small b, 1/(1+b) 1 b , so
Divide by nearby round number and adjust the remainder in each step of
Short division. If rounding up, add (adjustment x quotient digit), otherwise subtract.
124172 / 78:
Adjusting 78 up to 80 will add 2 x quotient digit to each remainder :
124 / 80 = 1 Remainder = 44 + 2x1 = 46
461 / 80 = 5 Remainder = 61 + 2x5 = 71
717 / 80 = 8 Remainder = 77 + 2x8 = 93
But 93>80, so we change the quotient 8 to 9:
717 / 80 = 9 Remainder = -3 + 2x8 = 15
152 / 80 = 1 Remainder = 72 + 2x1 = 74
740 / 80 = 9 Remainder = 20 + 2x9 = 38, etc.
Placing the decimal point, we have 1591.9
274 / 603:
Adjusting 603 down to 600 will subtract 3 x quotient digit from each remainder :
2740 / 600 = 4 Remainder = 340 3x4 = 328
3280 / 600 = 5 Remainder = 280 3x5 = 265
2650 / 600 = 4 Remainder = 250 3x4 = 238
2380 / 600 = 3 Remainder = 580 3x3 = 571
5710 / 600 = 9 Remainder = 310 3x9 = 283, etc.
4267 / 3492:
Multiply top and bottom by 2 8534 / 6984 will provide single-digit divisor.
Adjusting 6984 up to 7000 will add 16 x quotient digit to each remainder :
8534 / 7000 = 1 Remainder = 1534 + 16x1 = 1550
15500 / 7000 = 2 Remainder = 1500 + 16x2 = 1532
15320 / 7000 = 2 Remainder = 1320 + 16x2 = 1352
13520 / 7000 = 1 Remainder = 6520 + 16x1 = 6536
65360 / 7000 = 9 Remainder = 2360 + 16x9 = 2505, etc.
and
274 / 603 (274 / 600) (1 3/600) = 0.4567 (1 1/200)
= 0.4567 0.0023 = 0.4544
Actual Value: 0.45395
6243 / 5412 (6243 / 5400) (1 12/5400) 1.1561 (1 0.002)
= 1.1561 0.0023 = 1.1538 Actual Value: 1.1535
The boxes contain quotients of the connected dates.

Blue End: Add 31 to date
Two-Date
Rules
Red End: Add 61 to date
Legend
1/11
1/42
1/72
11
1. Left date: Blue end 17 + 31 = 48

2. Right date: Blue end 11 + 31 = 42
3. 48 / 42 = 1.14285714 (answer in box)
Nov 11
1798
(16)
1/17 = 0.05882353
SingleDate
Rules
Add 31: 17 + 31 = 48
1/ 48 = 0.02083333
Add 61: 17 + 61 = 78
1/78 = 0.012820513

17 + 05 = 22, 2 + 2 = 4
Jan 17, 1918, was a Thursday
1/17
1/48
1/78
17
11 + 16 = 27
2+7=9
Nov 11, 1798,
was a Sunday
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Jan 17
1918
Fri
Sat
(05)
Sun
MARCH
Sunday
Monday
28
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
1.0
0.03125
0.016129032
0.5
0.03030303
0.015873016
0.333333333
0.029411765
0.015625
0.25
0.028571429
0.015384615
0.2
0.027777778
0.015151515
01
02
03
04
05
Oct 1
1812
May 2
2053
Dec 3
1752
Mar 4
1907
Mar 5
1998
(21)
(30)
(15)
(11)
(08)
0.09090909
0.02380952
0.013888889
0.08333333
0.02325581
0.01369863
16
0.166666667
0.027027027
0.014925373
0.142857143
0.026315789
0.014705882
0.125
0.025641026
0.014492754
0.11111111
0.025
0.014285714
0.1
0.02439024
0.014084507
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
Sep 6
2007
Dec 7
1871
Jan 8
1937
June 9
2033
Oct 10
1784
Mar 11
1890
Mar 12
1930
(07)
(15)
(06)
(13)
(17)
(09)
(09)
0.076923077
0.022727273
0.013513514
0.071428571
0.022222222
0.013333333
0.066666667
0.02173913
0.013157895
0.0625
0.02127660
0.012987013
0.05882353
0.02083333
0.012820513
0.05555556
0.02040816
0.012658228
0.05263158
0.02
0.0125
06
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
Nov 13
1782
Feb 14
1945
July 15
1893
June 16
1781
Mar 17
1989
Aug 18
1808
Jan 19
2038
(08)
(16)
(09)
(17)
(05)
(18)
(01)
0.05
0.019607843
0.012345679
0.047619048
0.019230769
0.012195122
0.045454545
0.018867925
0.012048193
0.04347826
0.01851852
0.011904762
0.04166667
0.01818182
0.011764706
0.04
0.01785714
0.011627907
0.03846154
0.01754386
0.011494253
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
July 20
1926
Sep 21
2029
May 22
1772
Feb 23
1888
Apr 24
2014
Aug 25
1984
Dec 26
1877
(00)
(11)
(28)
(08)
(07)
(08)
(04)
0.037037037
0.017241379
0.011363636
0.035714286
0.016949153
0.011235955
0.034482759
0.016666667
0.011111111
0.03333333
0.01639344
0.010989011
0.03225806
0.01612903
0.010869565
27
28
29
30
31
Feb 27
1774
May 28
1995
Oct 29
1780
Aug 30
1829
July 31
1977
(09)
(08)
(16)
(06)
(14)
34
35
36 02
37
32
38
13
20
33
April 2011
February 2011
S
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Square roots are often encountered in technical work,

and the ability to quickly calculate them is easily acquired.
Square Roots
One-Digit
Endings
Is N a Perfect Square?
Power
1. If the last two digits of N are one less than a

multiple of 4, N cannot be a square.
2. Perfect squares end in 00, e1, e4, 25, d6 or e9 for
d = odd digit and e = even digit.
3. A square ending in 25 must end in 125, 225 or 625.
4. A square ending in e1 or e9 with e divisible by 4
must have an odd thousands digit:
661 is not a square, 361 may be a square
789 is not a square, 589 may be a square
Square
Root
0
1
2
3
4
5
0
1 9
4 6
7
8
9
3 7
2 8
5
Averaging: A good method to approximate a non-integer square root.

For an estimate r, a better estimate is the average of r and N/r:
51: Estimate 7
Better estimate is (7 + 51/7)/2 = 100/14 = 50/7 = 7.1429
For an estimate of a fraction s/t, this average can be re-written as:
51: Estimate s/t = 50/7

Better estimate is (2500 + 51x49)/ 2x50x7 = 4999/700 = 7.14143
Digit-by-Digit Extraction:
Step 1: Move the decimal point in N left two places at a time until only one or
two digits are left of the decimal point. Find the closest digit A whose square will
be less than this new N. Find the remainder R0 = N-A2 using only the integer portion of N.
Square root of 5163: N 51.63, A = 7, R0 = 51 72 = 2
Quartering the Difference: A more accurate approximation but more difficult.

For an estimate r, a better estimate is the weighted average of r and d = N r2:
Estimate: 7 R0=2
Step 2: Find 10 x R0 / 2 and add the next digit of N if it exists. Divide by A to get the next
digit B and remainder R1. The current square root is now A.B
B = (10x2/2 + 6/2) / 7 = 1 remainder 6
51: Estimate 7
Better estimate is 7 x (49 + x 2) / (49 + x 2) = 7 x 50.5/49.5
= 7 x 101/99 = 707/99 = 7.14141
which is better than averaging once but poorer than averaging twice
Estimate: 7.1 R1=6
Step 3: Find 10 x R1 and add the next digit of N if it exists. Subtract B2/2. If the result is
negative, reduce B by 1 and add A to R1 and try again. Otherwise, divide by A to get the
next positive digit C and remainder R2. The current square root is now A.BC
C = (10x6 + 3/2 12 /2) / 7 = 8 remainder 5
The boxes contain square roots of the connected dates

separated by a decimal point.
Two-Date
Rules
F = (10x5 + 0/2 1x4 8x5) / 7 = 0 remainder 6
Estimate: 7.18540
Final Step: Move the decimal point of the answer to the right once for each time it was
moved left in Step 1.
91/2
401/2
701/2
09

Nov 9
1799
3. (30.18)1/2 = 5.49363268 (answer in box)
(06)
151/2 = 3.87298335
Estimate: 7.186 R4=0
E = (10x0 + 0/2 1x6 82/2) / 7 is negative, so previous estimate 7.185 with R4 = 0+7 = 7
then E = (10x7 + 0/2 1x5 82/2) / 7 = 4 remainder 5 Estimate: 7.1854 R5=5
7.18540 71.8540
Legend
Estimate: 7.18 R2=5
Later Steps: Repeat for more digits. In each step, subtract multiplications of digits pairing
them inward to the middle, then if there is a digit left over we subtract half its square. See
the pattern:
A.B subtract B2/2
A.BC subtract BxC
A.BCD subtract (BxD + C2/2)
A.BCDE subtract (BxE + CxD)
A.BCDEF subtract (BxF + CxE + D2/2)
If a negative value occurs, back up and reduce the previous digit by 1, add A to the
previous R, and start again from there.
D = (10x5 + 0/2 1x8) / 7 = 6 remainder 0
John Wallis (1616-1703)

wrote that one night in
1669 he mentally
extracted the square root
of 3x10^45 to 21 digits
and two months later did
the same for a 53-digit
number to 27 digits.
SingleDate
Rules
Add 31: 15 + 31 = 46
461/2 = 6.78232998
Add 61: 15 + 61 = 76
761/2 = 8.717797887

15 + 16 = 31, 3 + 1 = 4
151/2
461/2
761/2
15
09 + 06 = 15
1+5=6
Nov 9, 1799,
was a Saturday
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Jan 15
1925
Fri
Sat
(16)
Sun
Sunday
Monday
APRIL
Wednesday
Thursday
May 2011
March 2011
S
Tuesday
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30 31
Friday
Saturday
1.0
5.656854249
7.8740078740
1.414213562
5.744562647
7.937253933
01
02
Feb 1
2003
Sep 2
1810
(14)
(16)
1.732050808
5.830951895
8.0
2.0
5.916079783
8.062257748
2.236067977
6.0
8.124038405
2.449489743
6.082762530
8.185352772
2.64575131
6.16441400
8.246211251
2.82842712
6.24499800
8.306623863
3.0
6.32455532
8.366600265
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
Mar 3
1773
Nov 4
1922
Sep 5
2018
May 6
1937
Apr 7
2072
June 8
1933
Jan 9
1786
(27)
(11)
(07)
(16)
(16)
(32)
(01)
3.162277660
6.403124237
8.426149773
3.316624790
6.480740698
8.485281374
3.464101615
6.557438524
8.544003745
3.60555128
6.63324958
8.602325267
3.74165739
6.70820393
8.660254038
3.87298335
6.78232998
8.717797887
4.0
6.85565460
8.774964387
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Mar 10
2037
Sep 11
1800
Oct 12
1783
Aug 13
1919
Nov 14
1883
Feb 15
1799
Mar 16
2045
(10)
(11)
(15)
(08)
(16)
(08)
(06)
4.123105626
6.928203230
8.831760866
4.242640687
7.0
8.888194417
4.358898944
7.071067812
8.944271910
4.47213595
7.14142843
9.0
4.58257569
7.21110255
9.055385138
4.69041576
7.28010989
9.110433579
4.79583152
7.34846923
9.165151390
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
Apr 17
1818
Dec 18
2082
Oct 19
1836
Apr 20
1939
Feb 21
1885
Oct 22
1758
Apr 23
1961
(05)
(14)
(11)
(11)
(12)
(14)
(13)
4.898979486
7.416198487
9.219544457
5.0
7.483314774
9.273618495
5.099019514
7.549834435
9.327379053
5.19615242
7.61577311
9.380831520
5.29150262
7.68114575
9.433981132
5.38516481
7.74596669
9.486832981
5.47722558
7.81024968
9.539392014
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Nov 24
1910
Oct 25
1793
Mar 26
1859
Jan 27
1754
Sep 28
1790
July 29
1848
Nov 30
1963
(07)
(25)
(07)
(09)
(73)
(04)
(12)
32
33
27 06
28
29
30
01
03
10
17
24
2x3-Digit Multiplication
Multiplication of larger numbers can be performed using

the same methods we use for multiplying smaller numbers.
Remember Cross Multiplication?
Remember the Midpoint Method? This technique converts the
multiplication of two different numbers into the square of the average

minus the square of the distance to the average
73x342:
1:
3:
7x4 + 3x3 + 2 = 39 , or 9 with a carry of 3
4:
7x3 + 3 = 24
Answer: 24966
Very useful!
where a is the average of the two numbers, (a+c) is one of the numbers,
and (ac) is the other number.
Of course, this applies to larger numbers. Here the midpoint of 24 and 38
is 41 at a distance of 7 from each number:
The calculating prodigy Truman Henry Safford (1836-1901)

grew to become the director of the Hopkins Observatory
at Williams College .
24x376 = 24x380 24x4 = (412 72)x10 96 = 9024
Remember the Good Neighbor Method? Multiply
by a nearby round number and adjust for the difference:
Remember Partial Products?

24x342 = 20x300 + 20x40 + 20x2
+ 4x300 + 4x40 + 4x2
= 8208
29x342 = 30x342 342 = 9918

42x543 = 40x543 + 2x543 = 22806
To find 30x342 here, we would multiply from left to right:
30x300 + 30x40 + 30x2 = 10260
Then to subtract 342 we can subtract 350 and add 8.
Remember the Anchor Method? Anchor one multiplier at the round

number a, and then string out the differences (plus or minus) of the
original numbers from this anchor to find the other multiplier.
Here we can find 412 as 40x42 + 1 using the Midpoint Method again, or
402 + 40 + 41 or 42 || (2x4) || 1 = 1681 by the Neighbors of Squares Method
(see February). Then we subtract 72 by subtracting 50 and adding 1,
attach a 0 to the end, and subtract 96 by subtracting 100 and adding 4.
We are not yet squaring 3-digit numbers, just multiplying

a 2-digit number by a 3-digit number. The August
calendar covers 3x3-digit multiplication, and there we will
extend our previous rules for 2-digit squares to 3-digit
squares. If you cant wait, do a time leap to August now!
Then attach the original last digit of the leftmost date to the
start of the rightmost date and multiply.
If the differences have the same sign, the correction at the end will be
added, and if one is positive and the other is negative the correction will
be subtracted.
For a 2x3-digit multiplication, the numbers are generally far apart, but
the 3-digit number might be broken into a multiple of 10 plus an offset:
Two-Date
Rules
87x985 = 87x980 + 87x5

= (100x85 + 3x2)x10 + 87x5
= 85060 + 870/2 = 85695
43x624 = 43x620 + 43x4
= (50x55 7x12)x10 + 43x4
= (2750 84)x10 + (4x40 + 4x3) = 26832
(where we subtract 84 by adding 100 and subtracting 16)

2. Right date: Blue end 2 x 06 = 12. Attach the last digit
2 from the leftmost date (12) to the front 212
06 x 606
37 x 737
67 x 767
06
Nov 6
1798
3. 24 x 212 = 5088 (answer in box)
43x412 = 43x410 + 43x2

= (40x44 + 3x1)x10 + 43x12
= 17630 + 86 = 17716
Legend
(14)
12 x 212 = 2544
SingleDate
Rules
Add 31: 12 + 31 = 43
43 x 343 = 14749
Add 61: 12 + 61 = 73
73 x 373 = 27229

12 + 12 = 24, 2 + 4 = 6
Jan 12, 1918, was a Saturday
12 x 212
43 x 343
73 x 373
12
Jan 12
1918
(12)
14 + 06 = 20
2+0=2
Nov 6, 1798,
was a
Tuesday
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
404
10989
22869
909
14756
29696
1616
18725
36725
2525
22896
43956
3636
27269
51389
4949
31844
59024
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
July 1
1867
Nov 2
1907
Apr 3
1831
May 4
1788
July 5
1981
Nov 6
1798
May 7
2015
(00)
(22)
(15)
(23)
(13)
(14)
(15)
6464
36621
66861
8181
1600
4900
100
5781
12141
1221
10164
19584
2544
14749
27229
4069
19536
35076
5796
24525
43125
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
Dec 8
1770
Feb 9
2027
June 10
1959
Aug 11
1880
Jan 12
1918
Sep 13
1805
Dec 14
1792
(07)
(11)
(11)
(19)
(12)
(10)
(09)
7725
29716
51376
9856
35109
59829
12189
40704
68484
14724
46501
77341
17461
2500
6400
400
7701
14661
2541
13104
23124
MAY
101
7424
16244
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
Jan 15
1771
May 16
2073
Apr 17
1935
Nov 18
1840
Feb 19
2028
Nov 20
1878
Mar 21
1802
(05)
(04)
(13)
(03)
(05)
(10)
(15)
4884
18709
31789
7429
24516
40656
10176
30525
49725
13125
36736
58996
16276
43149
68469
19629
49764
78144
23184
56581
88021
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
Dec 22
1816
Oct 23
2019
May 24
1946
Oct 25
1786
July 26
1990
Oct 27
1822
Dec 28
1796
(05)
(07)
(08)
(05)
(05)
(27)
(02)
26941
3600
8100
900
9821
17381
4061
16244
26864
29
30
31
Mar 29
2058
May 30
1844
Aug 31
1997
(03)
(10)
(14)
31
32
32 04
27
26
33
08
15
22
28
April 2011
S
12
June 2011
F
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30
Cubes and Cube Roots

A.C. Aitken (1895-1967) excelled in noninteger root extraction . The Thirding
method here was pioneered by Aitken.
Cubes are often asked of lightning calculators, but

non-integer cube roots are very rarely encountered.
Binomial Expansion for Cubes: As we did for squares, we can express the
number to be cubed as the sum of two other numbers that are more easily
cubed:
Very useful for
larger numbers
Square and Multiply: Square, then multiply again

using Partial Products or Cross Multiplication:
so
343 = (30+4)3 = 303 + 43 + 3x30x4x34

= 27000 + 64 + 90x136 = 27064 + (13600 1360) = 39304
342 = 1156
343 = 34 x 1156 = 34000 + 3400 + 1700 + 204 = 39304
or
34 x 1156:
1:
4x6 = 124, or 4 with a carry of 2
5:
3x1 + 0 = 3
Answer: 39304
693 = (701)3 = 703 13 3x70x1x69

= 343000 1 3x70x69 = 342999 3x702 + 3x70 = 328509
Thirding the Difference: Our most accurate approximation but more difficult.
For an estimate r, a better estimate is the weighted average of r and d = N r3:
Weighted Averaging: A good method to approximate a non-integer cube root.

For an estimate r, a better estimate is the weighted average of r and N/r:
(119)1/3 : Estimate 5
Better estimate is 5 x [125 + (2/3)(-6)] / [125 + (1/3)(-6)]
= 5 x 121/123 = 605/123 = 4.918699 Actual Value: 4.918685
(119)1/3 : Estimate 5
Better estimate is (2x5 + 119/25)/3 = (10 + 476/100)/3 = 14.76/3 = 4.92
Legend
For an estimate expressed as a fraction s/t, this average can be re-written as:
The boxes contain cube roots of the connected dates
separated by a decimal point.
(119)1/3 : Estimate s/t = 49/10

Better estimate is (235300 + 119x1000)/ 3x2401x10 = 354300/72030
354.3/72.03 = 354.3/[72(1+0.03/72)]
(354.3/72)x(1 1/2400)
= 4.9188 Actual Value: 4.918685

Two-Date
Rules
(119)1/3 : Estimate 5
add b = (119 125) / 75 = -0.08 to get 4.92
subtract c = 0.082 / 5 = 0.00128 to get 4.91872 Actual Value: 4.918685
Our answer of 4.91872 is better than weighted averaging once
9^3
40^3
70^3
09

3. (30.18)1/3 = 3.113434583 (answer in box)
Two-Step Approximation: An improvement to one weighted average.

For an initial estimate r,
Nov 9
1799
(06)
15^3 = 3375
SingleDate
Rules
Add 31: 15 + 31 = 46
46^3 = 97336
Add 61: 15 + 61 = 76
76^3 = 438976

15 + 16 = 31, 3 + 1 = 4
15^3
46^3
76^3
15
09 + 06 = 15
1+5=6
Nov 9, 1799,
was a Saturday
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Jan 15
1925
Fri
Sat
(16)
Sun
Sunday
Monday
July 2011
May 2011
JUNE
Tuesday
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31
28
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
1
32768
238328
8
35937
250047
27
39304
262144
64
42875
274625
01
02
03
04
May 1
1886
Aug 2
1918
June 3
1787
Apr 4
1968
(14)
(11)
(15)
(27)
1000
68921
357911
1331
74088
373248
125
46656
287496
216
50653
300763
343
54872
314432
512
59319
328509
729
64000
343000
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
Nov 5
1857
Mar 6
1794
Aug 7
1887
Oct 8
1937
Aug 9
1791
Feb 10
1876
June 11
1988
(17)
(16)
(11)
(06)
(11)
(21)
(13)
1728
79507
389017
2197
85184
405224
2744
91125
421875
3375
97336
438976
4096
103823
456533
4913
110592
474552
5832
117649
493039
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Dec 12
1767
Mar 13
2021
June 14
1956
May 15
1827
Sep 16
1810
July 17
1985
Jan 18
1815
(21)
(11)
(08)
(05)
(11)
(13)
(03)
6859
125000
512000
8000
132651
531441
9261
140608
551368
10648
148877
571787
12167
157464
592704
13824
166375
614125
15625
175616
636056
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
May 19
1929
Mar 20
1839
Dec 21
2012
July 22
1841
Dec 23
1972
Aug 24
2017
June 25
1913
(08)
(10)
(11)
(09)
(10)
(07)
(05)
17576
185193
658503
19683
195112
681472
21952
205379
704969
24389
216000
729000
27000
226981
753571
26
27
28
29
30
May 26
2039
Aug 27
1884
June 28
1991
Apr 29
1948
July 30
1803
(14)
(03)
(04)
(11)
(12)
27
28
29 01
02
03
31
04
01
05
12
19
Factoring and finding roots of perfect powers is a fun and challenging pursuit.
Factoring and Integer Roots

As a child, Zerah Colburn(18041839) factored 4294967297
into 641 x 6700417
Integer Roots: For a 3-digit integer cube root, fifth root or seventh root, as in the
exercises in this months calendar:
Seventh root of N = 41,998,948,952,729,733:

1. The ones digit is unique for all these roots. It is the same as in the power for a
root of order of the form 4k+1 like the fifth root. The third and seventh root differ only in
the blue rows of the table here. For a seventh power ending in 3, the root is nn7.
Is the year 2011 prime?
Difference/Sum of Powers: Is N one of these forms?

N = (a2 b2) has factors (a+b) and (a-b)
N = (a3 b3) has a factor (a-b)
N = (a3 + b3) has a factor (a+b)
2. The hundreds digit is found from the ranges of the powers. Here 2007 = 128x1014
and 3007 = 2187x1014 so the fifth root here would be in the 200s. The root is 2n7.
2011 is not!
1596 = 402 22 = 42 x 38
973 = 103 33 has factor 7
1001 = 103 + 13 has factor 11
3. The tens digit is found by matching the 11-Remainders for cube or seventh roots,
or the 13-Remainders for fifth or seventh roots, since these produce unique results.
Sieve: Eliminate small prime factors of N, since 82% of random 4-digit numbers
(such as this months exercises) have prime factors <= 11.
1. Factor of 2 if N is even; 4 if 4 divides last two digits; 8 if 8 divides last three digits
2011 not even, 4 does not divide 11, and 8 does not divide 011
2. Factor of 5 if N ends in 5
11-Remainders (Remainders after division by 11)

Subtract even digits from odd digits in N,
repeat until <11, adding 11s if needed until >0.
Check table for the matching result for the root.
Then do the 11-Remainder on the root and deduce n:
11-Remainder on 41,998,948,952,729,733 = -3 8,
so 11-Remainder on 2n7 = 6, so n must equal 3
and so the root = 237.
One-Digit Endings
2011 does not end in 5

3. Factors of 3 or 9 if they divide the 9-Remainder (Add all digits, repeat until < 10)
2 + 0 + 1 + 1 = 4 is not a multiple of 3 or 9
4. Factors of 11 if 11 divides the 11-Remainder (odd-place digits minus even-place
digits, repeat until less than 11, add 11s if needed to get result >0)
1 - 1 + 0 2 = -2 so add 11 to get 9, which is not a multiple of 11
Or use 13-Remainders:
We can reduce N using
Other Divisor Tests
or simply divide the entire N
by 13 to get a remainder of 3.
From the 13-test table, the
13-Remainder on 2n7 = 3,
and by trial we find root = 237.
Other Divisor Tests: Simplify very large numbers before testing some primes by
mental division. Repeat until N is too small for these to be useful.
Remove m = last 3 digits of N (not useful for 4-digit N in this calendar unless m is small)
Find (N-m) for 7, 11, 13
2 011 = -9 not divisible by 7, 11, 13
Find (N+m) for 37
2 + 011 = 13 not divisible by 37
Find (N-2m) for 23, 29
2 022 = -20 not divisible by 23
Find (N+4m) for 31, 43
2 + 088 = 90 not divisible by 31,43
Remove k = last 2 digits of N (useful for most 4-digit N in this calendar )
Find (N+4k) for 19
Find (N+8k) for 17, 47
20 + 88 = 108 not divisible by 17,47
Find (N+16k) for 41
Find (N-2k) for 67
Find (N-8k) for 89
Find (N-9k) for 53
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Cube
Root
0
1
8
7
4
5
6
3
2
9
Fifth
Root
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Seventh
Root
0
1
8
7
4
5
6
3
2
9
13s Test
Fifth Seventh
Root
Root
0
0
1
1
6
11
9
3
10
4
5
8
2
7
11
6
8
5
3
9
4
10
7
2
12
12
Legend
The boxes contain prime factors of the connected dates

Blue End: Add 31 to date
Red End: Add 61 to date
x3
y5
z7

Two-Date
Rules
1. Left date: Blue end 15 + 31 = 46

2. Right date: Blue end 09 + 31 = 40
3. 4640 = 2x2x2x2x2x5x29 or 2^5x5x29 (answer in box)
If the letter P appears anywhere in the

factor list the number is actually prime!
09
Nov 9
1799
(06)
We dont need to
test for primes
above 2011 = 44
Weve tested all primes < 100 (the range for the 4-digit numbers in this calendar)
except 29, 59, 61, 71, 73, 79, 83, and 97. The only one less than 44 is 29, and
2011/29 is not an integer, so.
The year 2011 is prime!
Power
11s Test
Power Cube Seventh
Root Root
0
0
0
1
1
1
2
7
8
3
9
5
4
5
9
5
3
4
6
8
7
7
6
2
8
2
6
9
4
3
10
10
10
11
12
-
No answers are provided for these

(use the Calculator on your PC)
Find x = integer cube root
Find y = integer fifth root
Find z = integer seventh root
15 + 16 = 31, 3 + 1 = 4
x3
y5
z7
15
09 + 06 = 15
1+5=6
Nov 9, 1799,
was a Saturday
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Jan 15
1925
Fri
Sat
(16)
Sun
Sunday
Monday
June 2011
JULY
Tuesday
Thursday
August 2011
F
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 31
3581577
55730836701
13254776280841401
19248832
164130859375
84744015603303808
03
04
05
Oct 3
1990
(18)
34965783
1057227821024
753669927250029952
10
Sep 10
2007
(00)
159220088
39883798828125
160388518974780383
17
Dec 17
1903
(05)
618470208
408348897330176
581746347858515625
24
Mar 24
1832
(09)
17779581
995009990004999
314636844829229056
July 4
1776
(18)
25412184
2956466552832
96733929416521923
11
June 5
1874
(18)
48627125
5963102065799
17419031429960369
12
Oct 11
1881
May 12
2043
(09)
(08)
200201625
43016596437893
245526784064140625
18
Friday
Saturday
1030301
14025517307
131593177923584
1331000
37129300000
532875860165503
01
02
(22)
(25)
Mar 1
1839
1860867
19254145824
5231047633534976
31
Wednesday
253636137
63955671886657
366790143213462347
19
2685619
234849287168
213647747443112099
06
Feb 6
1952
(15)
70444997
61917364224
698260569735168
13
1404928
178689902368
294313621587817417
07
8615125
551473077343
570044943920267264
08
June 2
1946
13651919
1947195170207
1231171548132409344
09
Feb 7
1795
Sep 8
1830
Oct 9
2028
(08)
(13)
(01)
78402752
11727599043051
28321829503567564201
14
141420761
17254995508224
11140385236461026176
15
16
Aug 14
1960
Nov 15
1895
Apr 16
1806
(24)
(22)
(08)
(14)
20
428661064
127142265940832
5618606965795036053
21
485587656
192151797699599
3401580794509246464
22
23
Nov 19
1863
Feb 20
1765
Jan 21
1934
Sep 22
1859
(18)
(12)
(10)
(15)
Mar 23
2030
(09)
(10)
25
799178752
593777798104501
34048254470000000
26
997002999
16850581551
8300513205665792
27
49430863
876586512998624
19310159666381286089
28
6539203
103244904396875
61243167054566186591
29
30
Apr 26
1986
Nov 27
1898
Aug 28
1963
Dec 29
1864
Jan 30
1777
(05)
(07)
(09)
(02)
(11)
(01)
Mar 31
1923
(11)
38
33
34 06
35
36
17
411830784
140126044921875
170980716079866232953
Sep 25
1901
32
10
569722789
290572941207901
724475329537064921875
Apr 18
1779
700227072
587216781904499
57698133708111872
03
117649000
28247524900000
178832839131982314368
Jan 13
1889
304821217
11592740743
266001988046875
01
37
24
Multiplication of 3x3-digit numbers extends our earlier techniques (January/February/May)
Partial Products:
247x342 = 200x300 + 200x40 + 200x2
+ 40x300 + 40x40 + 40x2
+ 7x300 + 7x40 + 7x2
= 84474
The abilities of Jacques

Inaudi (1867-1950) were
investigated and written
about by Alfred Benet
and others.
Special Neighbors: (the comma indicates a
3-digit group, so a fourth digit is added to the

group on the left)
(250+a)2 = (62 + a/2) , 500+a2
(500+a)2 = (250 + a) , a2
(750+a)2 = (562 + 3a/2) , 500+a2
2682
5132
4292
7572
= (62 + 9) , 500+182 = 71,824

= (250 + 13) , 132 = 263,169
= (250 - 71) , 712 = 179 , 5041 = 184,041
= (562 + 21/2) , 500+72 = 572.5 , 549
= 572 , 1049 = 573,049
Advanced: Can you

separate out a product
that is easy to multiply
by the rest?
67 x 3 = 201
23 x 13 = 299
19 x 21 = 399
17 x 47 = 799
89 x 9 = 801
53 x 17 = 901
37 x 27 = 999
7 x 11 x 13 = 1001
23 x 29 x 3 = 2001
31 x 43 x 3 = 3999
159 x 172
= (3x53)x170 + 2x159
= 3x9010 + 318
= 27348
Reverse Midpoint Method: Split the square

into the product of two numbers equidistant
from the original number, and add the square
of that distance (a type of Anchor Method):
Cross Multiplication:
873x342:
1:
3: 8x2 + 7x4 + 3x3 + 2 = 55 , or 5 with a carry of 5
5: 8x3 + 5 = 29
Answer: 298566
When spreading a square to the product of

two numbers you add the correction, and
when collapsing two multipliers to a square
you subtract the correction.
Good Neighbor Method:

Multiply by a nearby round
number and adjust for the
difference:
Midpoint Method: Square the average and

subtract the square of the distance to that
average, or algebraically,
where a is the average of the two numbers, (a+c)

is one of the numbers, and (ac) is the other
number. Here the midpoint of 244 and 382 is 313, a
distance of 69 from each number. Then we usethe
Reverse Midpoint Method to simplify 3132 :
244x382 = 3132 692 = (300x326 + 132) 692
Binomial Expansion for Squares:
294x327 = 300x327 6x327

= 96138
411x543 = 400x543 + 11x543
= 223173
Separate the number into the sum of two

other numbers that are more easily squared:
To find 300x342, we can multiply

from left to right as (3x300 +
3x40 + 3x2)x100 = 102600. Then
6x327 = 1962, so we subtract
2000 and add 38.
3422 = (300+42)2 = 3002 + 2x300x42 + 422

= 116964
3842 = (400-16)2 = 4002 2x400x16 + 162
= 147456
The boxes contain products using digits of the connected dates.
Cool Facts: For numbers ending in 25 or 75,
(n25)2 = (n2 + n/2) | 06 | 25

(n75)2 = (n2 + n + n/2) | 56 | 25
1.
Attach the original first digit of the rightmost date (without
Two-Date
Rules
1.
Attach the original last digit of the leftmost date (without

doubling or tripling) to the start of the rightmost date
1.
Multiply the two numbers

Example for the second box from the bottom:
and then string out the differences (plus or minus) of the original
numbers from this anchor to find the other multiplier. Then add the
product of the differences. Algebraically this is represented as
3. 240 x 218 = 52320 (answer in box)
If the differences have the same sign, the correction at the end will be
added, and if one is positive and the other is negative the correction will
be subtracted.
922x985 = 1000x907 + 78x15

= 907000 + 78x10 + (78x10) = 908170
463x536 = 500x499 37x36
= 499000/2 (40x33 + 3x4) = 249500 1332 = 248168
(where we might subtract 1332 by subtracting 1500 and adding 168)
212^2 = 44944
SingleDate
Rules
Add 31: 12 + 31 = 43
343^2 = 117649
Add 61: 12 + 61 = 73
373^2 = 139129

12 + 12 = 24, 2 + 4 = 6
606^2
737^2
767^2
06
Attach 0 from 06 to end 240

1. Right date: Red end 3 x 06 = 18
Attach 2 from 12 to start 218
443x412 = 400x455 + 43x12

= (4x400 + 4x50 + 4x5)x100 + 43x10 + 43x2 = 182516
Legend
doubling or tripling) to the end of the leftmost date
3252 = (32 + 1.5) | 06 | 25 = 10.5 | 06 | 25 = 105625

6752 = (62 + 6 + 3) | 56 | 25 = 455625
Anchor Method: Anchor one multiplier at a nearby round number a,
6172 = 600x634 + 172

= (6x600 + 6x30 + 6x4)x100 +
(14x20 + 32) = 380689
Nov 6
1798
(14)
212^2
343^2
373^2
12
Jan 12
1918
(12)
14 + 06 = 20
2+0=2
Nov 6, 1798,
was a
Tuesday
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
Sunday
Monday
Wednesday
Thursday
40804
110889
131769
91809
188356
215296
163216
286225
319225
255025
404496
443556
367236
543169
588289
01
02
03
04
05
06
Dec 1
1932
July 2
1892
Jan 3
1755
Oct 4
1957
Aug 5
1931
June 6
1944
(12)
(22)
(11)
(19)
(16)
(05)
100
19881
29241
12321
58564
73984
44944
117649
139129
97969
197136
224676
AUGUST
10201
53824
68644
Tuesday
Friday
Saturday
499849
702244
753424
652864
881721
938961
826281
1600
4900
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
Oct 7
1860
May 8
1945
July 9
1765
Jan 10
1879
Apr 11
2014
Nov 12
1760
Dec 13
1873
(29)
(12)
(11)
(13)
(21)
(09)
(11)
171396
297025
330625
265225
417316
456976
379456
558009
603729
514089
719104
770884
669124
900601
958441
844561
2500
6400
400
22801
32761
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Sep 14
1757
Dec 15
1846
Jan 16
2036
Nov 17
1943
Sep 18
1756
July 19
1867
May 20
2015
(07)
(05)
(14)
(04)
(06)
(13)
(10)
14641
63504
79524
49284
124609
146689
104329
206116
234256
179776
308025
342225
275625
430336
470596
391876
573049
619369
528529
736164
788544
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
Aug 21
2087
Nov 22
1963
Jan 23
1936
June 24
1761
Feb 25
1940
June 26
2019
Sep 27
1765
(10)
(10)
(08)
(06)
(20)
(04)
(14)
685584
919681
978121
863041
3600
8100
900
25921
36481
17161
68644
85264
28
29
30
31
Feb 28
1914
Aug 29
1801
Apr 30
2038
Oct 31
1895
(05)
(13)
(11)
(09)
32
33
03 03
04
32
05
M
07
14
21
06
September 2011
July 2011
S
01
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30
Multiplication of 4x4-digit numbers can benefit from our earlier

techniques for special cases, but cross-multiplication is typically the
most realistic option. We also introduce a new group technique here.
Group Notation: It is convenient to treat hundreds groupings as
separate blocks for multiplication. The notation "|n" represents a
two-digit number string. If more than two digits exist in n, they are
merged (or added) to the digits to the left of the "|" sign. The
hundreds groups can carry or borrow as needed from neighboring
groups to make each group positive and less than 100.
Cross Multiplication:
5873x6342:
1:
4: 5x2 + 8x4 + 7x3 + 3x6 + 5 = 86, or 6 with a carry of 8
7: 5x6 + 7 = 37
Answer: 37246566
45 | 3 = 4503
3 | 129 = 4 | 29 = 429
25 | -125 = 23 | (200-125) = 2375
Do you see that 34|145|16|-248 = 35451252 ?
6143 x 2839:
2x2 Cross Multiplication:
Represent this as 61|43 x 28|39 or A|B x C|D
5873x6342:
1:
3: 58x63 + 70 = 3724
Answer: 37246566
1. Find AxC = 61x28 = 1708. Find BxD = 43x39 = 1677

1708 | 1677 = 17 | 24 | 77
2. Add the last two numbers, 24+77, and subtract (A-B) x (C-D)
The boxes contain products using digits of the connected dates.
24 + 77 - (61-43)x(28-39) = 101 + 11x18 = 299

3. Previous Results:
Answer:
17 | 24 | 77
299
17 | (17 + 24) | 299 | 77
Merge terms left to right as we go to get 17439977
5873x6342:
1. AxC = 58x63 = 3654
BxD = 73x42 = 3066
3654 | 3066 = 36 | 84 | 66
2. Add the last two numbers, 84+66,
and subtract (A-B) x (C-D)
84 + 66 - (58-73)x(63-42) = 150 + 15x21 = 465
3. Answer:
Johann Dase (1824-1861) once

multiplied 79532853 by 93758479
in 54 seconds; two 20-digit
numbers in 6 minutes; two 40digit numbers in 40 minutes; and
two 100-digit numbers in 8 hours
45 minutes.
It helps if you are skilled at 2x2 multiplications!
4x4 Group Multiplication:
36 | (36 + 84) | 465 | 66 = 37246566
1. Requires only
three 2x2 digit
multiplications
2. Naturally
produces a leftto-right answer
Two-Date
Rules
Form a number from the leftmost date followed by the rightmost

date. Double or triple if blue or red end on left date.
2.
Form a number from the rightmost date followed by the leftmost

date. Double or triple if blue or red end on right date.
3.
Multiply the two numbers

Example for the second box from the bottom:
2. Right date: Red end 3 x 0915 = 2745

3. 3018 x 2745 = 8284410 (answer in box)
SingleDate
Rules
Add 31: 15 + 31 = 46
6446^2 = 41550916
Add 61: 15 + 61 = 76
6776^2 = 45914176

15 + 16 = 31, 3 + 1 = 4
9009^2
0440^2
0770^2
Nov 9
1799
Add reversed date to front and square

5115^2 = 26163225
Legend
09
3. Mechanical
process is
simple when
learned
4. Ideal when A
and B or C and
D are close in
value!
1.
(06)
5115^2
6446^2
6776^2
15
Jan 15
1925
(16)
09 + 06 = 15
1+5=6
Nov 9, 1799,
was a Saturday
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
SEPTEMBER
Sunday
Monday
August 2011
S
Tuesday
Wednesday
October 2011
F
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 31
2
9
16
23
30
1
3
4
5
6
7
8
10 11 12 13 14 15
17 18 19 20 21 22
24 25 26 27 28 29
31
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
1002001
5438224
7086244
4008004
11108889
13417569
9018009
18783556
21752896
01
02
03
Nov 1
1980
Apr 2
1853
Sep 3
2099
(23)
(13)
(19)
12100
2076481
3136441
16032016
28462225
32092225
25050025
40144896
44435556
36072036
53831569
58782889
49098049
69522244
75134224
64128064
87216921
93489561
81162081
193600
592900
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
Jun 4
1989
Dec 5
2001
July 6
1817
Mar 7
1908
Aug 8
1824
Mar 9
1838
May 10
2032
(14)
(07)
(12)
(08)
(19)
(14)
(00)
1234321
5963364
7683984
4460544
11854249
14235529
9690769
19749136
22791076
16924996
29648025
33350625
26163225
41550916
45914176
37405456
55457809
60481729
50651689
71368704
77053284
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
Jan 11
1753
July 12
1938
Apr 13
2029
July 14
1789
Apr 15
1912
Feb 16
1843
June 17
1927
(20)
(08)
(19)
(19)
(85)
(15)
(14)
65901924
89283601
95628841
83156161
302500
774400
48400
2405601
3538161
1490841
6512704
8305924
4937284
12623809
15077689
10387729
20738916
23853456
17842176
30858025
34633225
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Mar 18
1828
Dec 19
1773
Sep 20
1815
May 21
1927
Aug 22
1788
June 23
2011
Jan 24
1838
(02)
(17)
(10)
(12)
(10)
(08)
(06)
27300625
42981136
47416996
38763076
57108249
62204769
52229529
73239364
78996544
67699984
91374481
97792321
85174441
435600
980100
108900
2758921
3964081
25
26
27
28
29
30
July 25
1821
Feb 26
1944
June 27
1762
July 28
1870
May 29
1953
Sep 30
1957
(05)
(07)
(18)
(12)
(12)
(70)
32
33
27 28
29
30
31
31
01
04
11
18
Trigonometric Functions
Tangent with Memorization (~4 digit accuracy):

1.
If d > 45 (or 0.7854), replace d with (90d) or (1.571d).
2.
Find the angle or sum or difference of a pair of angles in Table 1

that is nearest to d. For a single angle, the fraction in column 3
is our first estimate. If a pair, use the equation below to add or
subtract their fractions, where N and D are the numerator and
denominator of each fraction. Swap signs to subtract a fraction.
3.
If the remaining difference is < 0.3 (or .005 radians), skip to Step 4. Otherwise, convert it to
radians if in degrees (multiply by the simpler ratio 7/400). Find a simple fraction that
approximates it and use the equation in Step 2 to add this fraction to the result of Step 2.
4.
Flip over the fraction if d was originally >45 (or 0.7854). Divide fraction to 4 digits.
5.
Convert the remaining angle difference b to radians if still in degrees,

again using 7/400. Then calculate c below to 4 digits, where tan a is
our current estimate from Step 4. Subtract c if d was originally >45,
otherwise add c.
Degrees/Radians Conversion: d (degrees) 401/7 x d (radians)

d (radians) 7/401 x d (degrees) (7/400 1/2000) x d (degrees)
Cosine without Memorization: For an angle in degrees d 36,
cos 28.4: 1000 cos d 1000 28.4x29.4 / 7 = 1000 28.4x4.2 = 880.7

cos d = 0.8807 Actual Value: 0.8796
Cosine with Memorization (~3 digit accuracy): For an angle in degrees d

36, split it into two parts d = a + b, where cos a has been memorized:
tan 28.4: Doubling 14.04 in the table gives 28.08. Add N1/D1 =
and N2/D2 = using our formula:
cos 28.4: 1000 cos d 1000 cos 30 (-1.6)(30 + 28.4 + 1) / 7
= 866.0 + 1.6x8.5= 879.6
cos d = 0.8796 Actual Value: 0.8796
For angle d 36,

calculate the sine:
cos d sin (90d)
(1x4 + 1x4) / (4x4 1x1) = 8/15

Since b = 28.4 28.08 = 0.32 is just over 0.3, we might skip Step 3
and divide 8/15 to get 0.5333. Convert b to radians and add c:
0.32 x 7/400 = 0.08 x 0.07 = 0.0056
c = 0.0056 (1 + 0.53332) 0.0056 (1 + 0.5 2) = 0.0070
0.5333 + 0.0070 = 0.5403 Actual Value: 0.5407
Sine without Memorization: For an angle in degrees d 54,
If we do not skip Step 3, approximate the difference 0.33 with 2/7 =

0.286 to simplify the radian conversion: 2/7 x 7/400 = 1/200. Then
(8x200 + 1x15) / (15x200 8x1) = 1615/2992 = 0.5398
sin 28.4: 1000 sin d (28.4/10)[174.4 28.4x29.4/120] = 475.5

sin d = 0.4755 Actual Value: 0.4756
Sine with Memorization (~3 digit accuracy): For an angle in degrees

d 54, split it into two parts d = a + b, where sin a has been memorized:
sin 28.4: 1000 sin d 1000 sin 30 + (-1.6/10)[174 30x28.4/40]

= 500.0 0.16 (174 30x0.71) = 475.6
sin d = 0.4756 Actual Value: 0.4756
Final difference 0.034 x 7/400 = 0.0006

c = 0.0006 (1 + 0.53982) = 0.0008, and 0.5398 + 0.0008 = 0.5404
For angle d 54,

calculate the cosine:
sin d cos (90 d)
The boxes contain sines and cosines of the connected dates

separated by a decimal point, in degrees
Two-Date
Rules
(concatenated answer in box is .4086.9127)
For angle d 45,

calculate as:
tan d 1 / tan (90 d)
SingleDate
Rules
sin 12 = 0.20791
cos 12 = 0.97815
tan 12 = 0.21256

12 + 12 = 24, 2 + 4 = 6
Legend
sin 6
cos 6
tan 6
06

3. sin 24.12 = .4086 and cos 24.12 = .9127
tan 28.4 = 4756 / 8796 4864/9000 = 0.5404 Actual Value: 0.5407
tan 28.4: 1000 tan d 1000 tan 30 + (-1.6/10)(174 + 30x28.4/20) = 541.2

tan d = 0.5412 Actual Value: 0.5407

Tangent by Definition:
Tangent with Memorization (~3 digit accuracy): For angle d 45,

split it into two parts d = a + b, where tan a has been memorized
The mathematician Johann

Carl Friedrich Gauss (17771855) possessed enormous
skill in lightning calculation.
Nov 6
1798
(14)
sin 12
cos 12
tan 12
12
14 + 06 = 20
2+0=2
Nov 6, 1798,
was a Tuesday
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Jan 12
1918
Fri
Sat
(12)
Sun
Sunday
Monday
OCTOBER
September 2011
S
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
0.01745
0.99985
0.01746
November 2011
S
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30
Saturday
01
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30
Jan 1
1901
01
(19)
0.03490
0.99939
0.03492
0.05234
0.99863
0.05241
0.06976
0.99756
0.06993
0.08716
0.99619
0.08749
0.10453
0.99452
0.10510
0.12187
0.99255
0.12278
0.13917
0.99027
0.14054
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
(29)
(18)
(14)
(27)
(04)
(14)
(19)
0.15643
0.98769
0.15838
0.17365
0.98481
0.17633
0.19081
0.98163
0.19438
0.20791
0.97815
0.21256
0.22495
0.97437
0.23087
0.24192
0.97030
0.24933
0.25882
0.96593
0.26795
Oct 2
1913
09
May 3
1865
10
Aug 4
1782
11
Oct 5
2040
12
Aug 6
1945
13
Nov 7
1917
14
July 8
2074
15
Nov 9
1989
Nov 10
1864
Feb 11
2034
Dec 12
1902
June 13
1761
Apr 14
1865
May 15
1855
(13)
(12)
(22)
(11)
(29)
(09)
(05)
0.27564
0.96126
0.28675
0.29237
0.95630
0.30573
0.30902
0.95106
0.32492
0.32557
0.94552
0.34433
0.34202
0.93969
0.36397
0.35837
0.93358
0.38386
0.37461
0.92718
0.40403
July 16
1837
16
Mar 17
1970
17
18
Oct 18
1766
Mar 19
2004
19
20
Jan 20
1835
July 21
1969
21
22
(11)
(03)
(15)
(13)
(00)
(79)
(14)
0.39073
0.92050
0.42447
0.40674
0.91355
0.44523
0.42262
0.90631
0.46631
0.43837
0.89879
0.48773
0.45399
0.89101
0.50953
0.46947
0.88295
0.53171
0.48481
0.87462
0.55431
23
24
Sep 24
1999
Aug 25
2067
25
26
Sep 26
1958
May 27
1853
Mar 28
1954
June 29
1809
(08)
(08)
(15)
(06)
(14)
(17)
(11)
0.5
0.86603
0.57735
0.51504
0.85717
0.60086
May 23
1754
30
31
Dec 30
1899
May 31
1917
(12)
(09)
03
04
05 05
27
06
28
07
Apr 22
1798
29
08
02
09
16
23
Logarithms
Logarithms appear quite often in mathematics and engineering

and calculating them is an impressive skill. When combined with
exponentials, they can be used to calculate high-order roots.
We will be working here in common logarithms, or logarithms to base

10. To calculate natural logarithms we can use the relation ln N = 2.3026
log N = (log N) / 0.4343 , or for easier calculation,
Use whichever is
easier for a number N
Example: log 7 = 0.84510
ln 7 (0.84510/0.43) x (1 0.01) = 1.9653 0.0197 = 1.9456
where -0.0197 -0.02 + .0003 Actual Value: 1.9459
Integers with Low Factors: Memorize the logarithms of low primes in
the table to the right . Notice how the other logarithms in the table can be
calculated as simple combinations of these---you can combine these to
find logarithms of many numbers according to these rules:
log ab = log a + log b
log (a/b) = log a log b
log ab = b log a
log a1/b = (1/b) log a
log (10bN) = b + log N
log (10-bN) = log N b
Series Approximation: Factor out a nearby number whose
log 42 = log 2 + log 3 + log 7

log 5.5 = log (11/2) = log 11 log 2
log 49 = log 72 = 2 log 7
log 631/2 = log 63 = (log 9 + log 7)
log 450 = 1 + log 45 = 2 + log 4.5
log 0.045 = log 45 3 = log 4.5 - 2
Among many other facts, Wim

Klein (1912-1986) drew on his
knowledge of logarithms to five
places of the first 150 integers
Series Modification: Modify the first term in the series expansion,

where the 0.8686 is omitted if calculating ln (N+a).
logarithm is easier to find. Then add to the first term or two in the
following series expansion for ln (1+a) (multiplied by 0.43 for log N):
1211 = 1210 x (1 + 1/1210), so ln 1211 = ln 1210 + ln (1 + 1/1210):

log 1210 = log (10 x 112) = 1 + 2 log 11 = 3.08279
log (1 + 1/1210) 0.43 x 1/1210 = 0.00036 first term only
so log 1211 3.08279 + 0.00036 = 3.08315
George Parker Bidder Method: Factor out a nearby

number whose logarithm is easy to find, then use the
Following expression, where m is the number of places
that a needs to be shifted to lie between 1 and 10:
where 0.8686 = 2x0.4343 and may be calculated as 0.86 (1 + 0.01) if

desired (add final result shifted right by two places). If a = 1 this will
be accurate to 5 decimal places for any N>20.
log 1211 log 1210 + 0.8686 (1/2421)
= 3.08279 + 0.8686 / (9 x 269) = 3.08314 Actual Value: 3.08314
log 62 log 64 - 0.8686 (2/126) for N = 64 and a = -2
log 64 = log 26 = 6 (0.30103) = 1.80609
0.8686 (2/126) = (1 + 0.01)x0.86/63
= (1 + 0.01)x0.01365 = 0.0137
so log 62 1.80618 0.01379 = 1.79239
The boxes contain common (base 10) logarithms of the
connected dates separated by a decimal point.
log 1211 = log 1200 + (1 + 11/1200):

log 1200 = 2 + log (4x3) = 2 + 2 log 2 + log 3 = 3.07918
103 x 11/1200 = 11/1.2 which lies between 1 and 10, so m = 3
so log (1 + 11/1200) 11/1.2 log 1.001
= 11/1.2 x 0.000434 = 0.00398
so log 1211 = 3.07918 + 0.00398 = 3.08316

Two-Date
Rules
log 1.01 = 0.004321

log 1.001 = 0.000434
log 1.0001 = 0.000043
Start off with lower accuracy before attempting 5-digit solutions!
log N
.30103000
.47712
.60206 = 2 x log 2
.69897 = 1 log 2
.77815 = log 2 + log 3
.84510
.90309 = 3 x log 2
.95424 = 2 x log 3
10
11
1.04139
13
1.11394
Legend
log 10
log 41
log 71
10

Nov 10
1799
3. log 32.20 = 1.50786 (answer in box)
(17)
Note how far we were able to go from 1211 to the very convenient 1200 and
still get a very accurate answer for log 1211!
To use this method we need to learn log (1+10m) except for m=1, in which
case a closer convenient number is needed for accuracy. These values
approach 0.4343x10m as m increases:
log 16 = 1.20412
SingleDate
Rules
Add 31: 16 + 31 = 47
log 47 = 1.67210
Add 61: 16 + 61 = 77
log 77 = 1.88649

16 + 07 = 23, 2 + 3 = 5
Jan 16, 1925, was a Friday
log 16
log 47
log 77
16
10 + 17 = 27
2+7=9
Nov 10, 1799,
was a Sunday
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Jan 16
1925
Fri
Sat
(07)
Sun
NOVEMBER
Sunday
Monday
28
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
0.0
1.50515
1.79239
0.30103
1.51851
1.79934
0.47712
1.53148
1.80618
0.60206
1.54407
1.81291
0.69897
1.55630
1.81954
01
02
03
04
05
Sep 1
1819
Mar 2
1918
July 3
1811
Oct 4
2026
Jan 5
1916
(11)
(22)
(09)
(14)
(16)
1.0
1.61278
1.85126
1.04139
1.62325
1.85733
1.07918
1.63347
1.86332
0.77815
1.56820
1.82607
0.84510
1.57978
1.83251
0.90309
1.59106
1.83885
0.95424
1.60206
1.84510
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
Dec 6
1769
Jan 7
1930
June 8
2000
Apr 9
1896
Aug 10
1795
July 11
1928
Feb 12
2009
(15)
(13)
(14)
(22)
(00)
(19)
(09)
1.11394
1.64345
1.86923
1.14613
1.65321
1.87506
1.17609
1.66276
1.88081
1.20412
1.67210
1.88649
1.23045
1.68124
1.89209
1.25527
1.69020
1.89763
1.27875
1.69897
1.90309
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
May 13
1791
Oct 14
1905
Sep 15
1854
Nov 16
2016
Feb 17
1846
June 18
1952
Sep 19
1872
(19)
(10)
(16)
(14)
(03)
(12)
(12)
1.30103
1.70757
1.90849
1.32222
1.71600
1.91381
1.34242
1.72428
1.91908
1.36173
1.73239
1.92428
1.38021
1.74036
1.92942
1.39794
1.74819
1.93450
1.41497
1.75587
1.93952
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
Aug 20
1851
June 21
1922
Feb 22
1782
July 23
2023
Dec 24
1757
Nov 25
2035
Aug 26
1971
(10)
(10)
(19)
(22)
(09)
(20)
(05)
1.43136
1.76343
1.94448
1.44716
1.77085
1.94939
1.46240
1.77815
1.95424
1.47712
1.78533
1.95904
27
28
29
30
Dec 27
1913
Apr 28
1764
Nov 29
2087
Oct 30
1847
(15)
(05)
(13)
(21)
28
29
30 30
31
03
32
M
06
13
20
33
October 2011
S
01
December 2011
F
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30 31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Exponentials
Calculating exponentials involves raising a number to a power, such as 102.85251 =

712.049 The value eN is often a solution to mathematical or physical equations,
but this is a simple extension of finding 10N since eN = 10(0.4343) N.
Step 2: Add or subtract up to two copies of log 3 = 0.47712 to make the
number close to a multiple of 0.1. You can determine the right number of copies
by looking at the second and third digits of the number, where adding log 3 is
like subtracting 23 in those digits, and vice versa.
George Parker Bidder (1806-1878) was a calculating prodigy who in

1856 described his method of mentally calculating compound interest.
Here you only

need to know
log 3 and log 2!
Step 1: Extract powers of 10 from N (by

subtracting or adding integers) to leave the
smallest difference from zero:
102.85251 103 x 10-0.14749
McIntoshDoerfler
Method
In the calendar, all exponents lie between 0

and 1, so 101 is extracted if greater than 0.5.
log M
.04139
11/10
.08715
11/9
.13830
11/8
.19629
11/7
.26324
11/6
.34242
11/5
.43933
11/4
Good at memorization? You can extract

logarithms of conveniently multiplied
and divided fractions from these tables.
0.14749 + 2 log 3 = 0.80675
where 47 is nearly 2x23
Step 3: Add or subtract up to five copies of log 2 = .30103 to make the decimal
part close to zero, and separate out the integer part. Notice how easy it is to
multiply by log 2 since log 2 = 0.3010300!
0.80675 + 4 log 2 = 2 + 0.01087
since 4 (0.30103) = 1.20412
Step 4: Calculate the following for our remainder b, where 3 digits are sufficient
for the last term (omit it completely for less accuracy):
Bemer
Method
1 + 2.3b (1 + 0.001) + (2.3b)2/2

1 + 2.3(0.01087)(1 + 0.001) + (2.3x0.011)2/2 = 1 + 0.02503 + 0.00032 = 1.02535
Step 2: Add or subtract memorized logarithms of low

numbers or convenient fractions from the remaining exponent to
reduce it to near zero (within 0.019 if 5-digit accuracy is desired).
Subtracting a logarithm will flip the multiplying number or fraction.
Step 5: Undo Steps 2 and 3. Divide if we added, multiply if we subtracted.
Perform divisions last. We added 2 log 3, so we divide by 32. We added 4 log 2

so we divide by 24 = 16. Then shift the decimal point based on the integers we
extracted along the way:
10-.14749 = 7/11 x 100.04880

since -0.14749 + 0.19629 = 0.04880
= 7/11 x 11/10 x 100.00741 since 0.04880 - 0.04139 = 0.00741
102.85251 103+2 x 1.02535 / (9x16) = 105 x 0.0071205

= 712.049 Actual Value: 712.049
Using the fractions in the 11/n table often cancels terms, as here:
log M
.011
M
40/39
.03
15/14
.05
46/41
.06
31/27
.07
.15
.20
.27
.30103
.34
.45
.47712
47/40
89/63
84/53
54/29
2
35/16
31/11
3
Legend
10-.14749 = 7/10 x 100.00741

The boxes contain exponentials (in powers of 10) for the
connected dates following a decimal point.
Step 3: Calculate the following for our remainder b, where 3 digits
are sufficient for the last term (omit it completely for less accuracy):

Two-Date
Rules
1 + 2.3b (1 + 0.001) + (2.3b)2/2

1 + 2.3(0.00741)(1 + 0.001) + (2.3x0.0074)2/2
= 1 + (0.01704 + 0.000017) + 0.00014 = 1.01721
10^(0.10)
10^(0.41)
10^(0.71)
10

Nov 10
1799
3. 10^(0.3220) = 2.09894 (answer in box)
Step 4: Multiply the results:
(17)
102.85251 103 x 7/10 x 1.01721 = 102 x 7 x 1.01721

= 712.047 Actual Value: 712.049
Use creativity! We may know that log 7 = 0.84510,
so 102.85251 102 x 100.00741 and we are already at Step 3!
10log(N)/r.
We can find a higher-order root r of a number N as

So to find the 11th root of 513, we find log 513 = 2.71012,
divide by 11 to get 0.24637, and find 100.24637 = 1.76350
10^(0.16) = 1.44544
SingleDate
Rules
Add .31: 0.16 + 0.31 = 0.47

10^( 0.47) = 2.95121
Add .61: 0.16 + 0.61 = 0.77
10^(0.77) = 5.88844

16 + 07 = 23, 2 + 3 = 5
Jan 16, 1925, was a Friday
10^(0.16)
10^(0.47)
10^(0.77)
16
10 + 17 = 27
2+7=9
Nov 10, 1799,
was a Sunday
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Jan 16
1925
Fri
Sat
(07)
Sun
DECEMBER
Sunday
Monday
November 2011
S
Tuesday
Wednesday
January 2012
S
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
1.02329
2.08930
4.16869
1.04713
2.13796
4.26580
1.07152
2.18776
4.36516
01
02
03
Apr 1
1914
Jan 2
1890
Aug 3
2015
(11)
(29)
(07)
1.25893
2.57040
5.12861
1.09648
2.23872
4.46684
1.12202
2.29087
4.57088
1.14815
2.34423
4.67735
1.17490
2.39883
4.78630
1.20226
2.45471
4.89779
1.23027
2.51189
5.01187
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
Sep 4
1856
May 5
2055
Oct 6
1777
Dec 7
1941
Feb 8
1801
May 9
2031
July 10
1883
(18)
(16)
(04)
(29)
(19)
(23)
(10)
1.28825
2.63027
5.24807
1.31826
2.69153
5.37032
1.34896
2.75423
5.49541
1.38038
2.81838
5.62341
1.41254
2.88403
5.75440
1.44544
2.95121
5.88844
1.47911
3.01995
6.02560
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
Nov 11
1900
Aug 12
1852
Oct 13
1785
Mar 14
2008
Aug 15
1947
Dec 16
1823
Oct 17
2040
(16)
(19)
(09)
(18)
(08)
(04)
(13)
1.51356
3.09030
6.16595
1.54882
3.16228
6.30957
1.58489
3.23594
6.45654
1.62181
3.31131
6.60693
1.65959
3.38844
6.76083
1.69824
3.46737
6.91831
1.73780
3.54813
7.07946
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Feb 18
1770
June 19
1955
Oct 20
2023
Apr 21
1849
Jan 22
1902
Sep 23
1790
July 24
2064
(18)
(08)
(21)
(12)
(08)
(08)
(07)
1.77828
3.63078
7.24436
1.81970
3.71535
7.41310
1.86209
3.80189
7.58578
1.90546
3.89045
7.76247
1.94984
3.98107
7.94328
1.99526
4.07380
8.12831
2.04174
4.16869
8.31764
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
Dec 25
1800
Jan 26
2048
July 27
1859
Jan 28
1774
Sep 29
1950
Mar 30
1833
Dec 31
2099
(06)
(19)
(03)
(13)
(03)
(21)
(09)
26
27
28 28
29
30
31
01
04
11
18
25
Lightning Calculators
Lightning calculators possess startling abilities
to mentally compute products, quotients,
powers, roots, and sometimes functions such as
logarithms and exponentials. This calendar
presents methods used by these individuals,
along with daily exercises for fun and practice.
The study of lightning calculators of the past
and present is fascinating from more than a
mathematical aspect. Many presentations,
particularly in the popular media, ascribe
abilities in these areas to mysterious
machinations in the minds of remote
geniuses, which makes for a good story but
can be discouraging. In fact, these individuals
through talent and training acquired a knack
for racing headlong through calculations that
can often seem mysterious to the uninformed.
Other than rough estimation, techniques of
mental calculation are not being taught in our
schools today. Yet presentations on even the
most basic methods of mental calculation are
met with incredible interest among people.
This calendar attempts to address that need.
Mental calculation can be a highly creative and satisfying endeavor
offering a variety of interesting strategies, many more than most
people realize. It is a skill that engages both children and adults,
and one that naturally leads to a real familiarity with the properties
and relationships of numbers. It provides a useful and fun
approach for developing a number sense and generating a true
appreciation for the elegance of elementary mathematics. It is an
art as fundamentally important as other areas of mathematics.
For information on obtaining this calendar, including a free PDF download to
create it on your own printer, visit http://www.myreckonings.com/wordpress
For additional details on advanced topics of mental calculation, please see

Lightning Calculators I - III essays at http://www.myreckonings.com/wordpress
Benjamin, Arthur. Secrets of Mental Math: The Mathemagician's Guide to
Lightning Calculation and Amazing Math Tricks (2006).
Doerfler, Ronald. Dead Reckoning: Calculating Without Instruments (1993).
Lane, George. Mind Games: Amazing Mental Arithmetic Tricks Made Easy (2004).
2010 Ron Doerfler All Rights Reserved
Lightning front cover photo by John A. Cobb
Lightning back cover photo by Erica Burrell

2011 Lightning Calculation Calendar

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2011 Lightning Calculation Calendar

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Lightning

The art of lightning calculation reveals

Each month in this calendar is devoted to a different type of

My philosophy on mental calculation:

It is important to realize that lightning calculators were highly

1. Numbers are not just collections of digits;

Have a happy 2011!

Using the Calendar

There are 3958 mental calculation exercises in this calendar.

The boxes contain products of the connected dates.

Example for the box at the bottom:

1. Left date: Blue end 2 x 18 = 36

3. 36 x 24 = 864 (answer in box)

Day of the Week Code: Add to the date,

The answers for calculations that involve pairs of dates appear in

Finding the Day of the Week is a very common task.

Day-Date Calendar Calculations

Every day after January contains a date between

Doomsday Method: Find a nearby doomsday and adjust it.

For y = last two digits of the year you are calculating,

The last day of February and January (where Jan 32 = Feb 1)

Doomsday is Monday for 2011.

Zellers Congruence: A straightforward calculation.

d = day of week numbered 0-6 for Saturday-Friday

You probably know the

Some Historical Date Exercises in this Calendar

United States Independence

Multiplication is the most common and useful type of lightning

In one performance, Maurice Dagbert (1913-1995) extracted a

Good Neighbor Method: Is one of the numbers near

a very round number? Multiply by the round number instead

52x64 = 50x66 + 2x14 = 3328

Easily scaled to larger numbers, but the answer is found

Becoming Neighbors: Bringing two multipliers nearer can

This is much easier to use than it might

3. Break one number into two convenient parts:

The two most common

The boxes contain products of the

Red End: Triple the date

Anchor Method: Anchor one multiplier

Cross Multiplication adds single-digit products that contribute to each digit

Example for the rightmost box here:

more multiplication methods in

3. 38 x 24 = 912 (answer in box)

Squares and general multiplication share a strange

Squares and 2-Digit Multiplication

Jedidiah Buxton (17071772)

52x78 = 652 132

It is helpful to remember that the average squared will always

342 = (30+4)2 = 302 + 2x30x4 + 42 = 1156

difference from 50 to 25, multiply by 100, and add the difference

Cool Facts: For squares of two-digit

(10a+7)2 = 100a(a+1) + 40(a+1) + 9

652 = 60x70 + 52 = 4225

Very useful for

but in this particular case it may be easier to use

Reverse Midpoint Method: To calculate a square, we can

Binomial Expansion for Squares: We can express

(25+b)2 = (6 + b/2) | (25 + b2)

28x33 = 28x32 + 28 = 302 22 + 28

28x33 = 30x31 2x3

An anchor of 100 is very common, say, 842 = 100x68 +

The vertical bar |