Lattice method...say what?!

Hello! Ever hear about the lattice method? I never have until my fourth year in college! But, it truly is a great method for multiplying, especially larger numbers!!! This is what a lattice method looks like:

Looks confusing, doesn't it?! But, in reality, it is a great method! I am going to share a few of the steps with you to clarify how easy the lattice method really can be! 

1. Write one of the numbers your multiplying above and the other number to the right of the chart, one digit per box. (Examples above: numbers 469 and 37)

2. Find the products for each cell of the chart. Use the 1-digit numbers on the outside of the chart as factors. Record each product in the cell with the tens digit of the product above the diagonal and the ones digit below. (Example above: 9x3=27, 9x7=63, and so on...)

3. Start at the lower right. Add diagonally as shown by the colored arrows. Write the ones digit of the diagonal sum below and to the left of the chart. IF the sum, along a diagonal is ten or more, regroup the 10 to the next diagonal. (Example above: 2+6+7=15, 2+8+4+8+(1)=23, etc)

4. Read the final product starting at the upper left digit, 1, from the top down and to the right (Example above: 17,353)

Now, this method may not work for everyone..But, there may be people out there like me that think this method is a lot easier and way more visual than figuring it out any other way. I am a visual learner so this helps me greatly! 

If you are still not understanding the lattice method I found a great video explaining the method a little more: 

                        

There  is a great website that helps you understand the different steps of the lattice method and how simple it is to learn and use. Here it is!

http://mathworld.wolfram.com/LatticeMethod.html

The lattice method is as simple as grabbing a pencil and paper, drawing a box, and writing a few numbers! I hope you all get the chance to use this method and see if it works for you, like it does for me! :) ENJOY!

Life without a calculator

Lets imagine life, for one second, without calculators. Scary, isn't it?! What would we do without them? We would ESTIMATE! It is very important for people of all ages to learn all about estimating and why its so important. First, I am going to share some important information with you that I learned this week in my college math class.

There are three main types of estimation:

1. Estimating the Quantity - finding how many students, days, lunches, classes, etc.
2. Estimating the Measure - finding how much length, area, volume, time, etc.
3. Estimating an Answer - finding a sum, difference, product, or quotient.

There are also many different techniques for estimating. I am going to share a few of my favorites with you. But, keep in mind...what works for some, doesn't always work for others! So experiment and see what works best for you! 

Rounding is based on locating the point halfway between consecutive multiples of 10, 100, 1000 and so on. So how would be round 208? You got it, 200!

Front end estimation is calculating the leftmost or "front end" digit of each number as if the remaining digits were all zeros. How would we front end estimate 258+365+102....200+300+100.

Clustering involves looking for the number about which the addends cluster and then multiplying by the number of addends. Take the numbers 48 55 47 52 and 53 for instance, we would cluster them around the number 50 and since there are 5 numbers that cluster around 50 you take 50 x 5 for your answer.

Now, your probably wondering why I am wasting your time telling you about these techniques. Well, I'm not. Now its time for a little story:

I was grocery shopping the other day with $100 (I give myself a budget because otherwise I go a little food crazy). While I was shopping I had to make sure I didn't go over my budget. So, while shopping I was using the rounding technique to make sure that I wasn't spending more then my limit. When I got the check-out, I still had $7 left over for extra money, but at least I didn't have to send something back because I was $7 over....we all know how embarrassing that is. This was made possible because I estimated how much each item cost. Brilliant, huh?!

Next time you think that estimating is a waste of time because we have calculators, remember...we don't always have calculators with us and we will need to know how to estimate our problems out.

Some more information on estimating is available at this website:
http://www.aaamath.com/est.htm

Still a little confused? Here is a great video with some examples on estimating and some more reasons on why estimating is so important! Enjoy!

Solving Problems

This week in math class I learned all about solving problems! I have always had a hard time with solving problems in math and this week I learned all about the basics. First, it helped for me to understand what exactly a problem is.

A problem is a situation for which the following conditions exist:

1. It involves a question that represents a challenge for the individual.
2. The question cannot be answered immediately by some routine procedure known to the individual.
3. The individual accepts the challenge. 

Second, I needed to understand what exactly problem solving is.

Problem Solving is a process by which an individual uses previously learned concepts, facts, and relationships, along with various reasoning skills and strategies to answer a question or questions about a situation. 

Third, I learned and understood the great problem solving model! Here is a little more information about the problem solving model that helped me learn all I needed to know about solving problems in math!

http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~ituba/math303s08/mathideas/mmi10_01_03.pdf

After learning all the basics of problem solving, I got to thinking...when will I use these strategies in real life?! I thought for a long time and even had a great discussion with my husband about it. I thought it would be fun to share some of the things we came up with! 

• Paying bills - figuring out how much money you will have to pay your bills and what you will have left over after. 
• Traveling - distance and time.
• Building - creating stuff for around your house (benches, shelves, etc.)
• Shopping - figuring out discounts, making sure you have the right amount of money, figuring out taxes, etc.
• Cooking - If you don't have the right amount of ingredients, how can you still make it work?! 
• Health - counting calories, how far you run, etc. 

After coming up with this list, I ended up using problem solving skills in many of these categories over my three day weekend. We payed bills when my husband got paid, went to a wedding and figured out how much we needed to spend on gas to get there, we went shopping for dress clothes and I got mine 20% off, and we also cooked cookies for fathers day but cut the recipe in half because there wasn't many people there. Problem solving is something that will come in handy every day of our lives, its just that  a lot of time we don't even notice that we use math strategies to figure them out!