Number Sense Blog

To test if a number is divisible by 11, follow the general rule: the difference of the sum of alternating digits can be divided by 11.   To determine if the number 2,728 is divisible by 11, find the difference of the sum of alternating digit...

  Our expert team of math educators and enthusiasts has spent over 40 years developing and refining the most powerful teaching methods and materials into our comprehensive, industry-leading Mathnasium Method™. These “Ask Education” featu...

  The holiday season is upon us, with gift-giving opportunities around every corner! Our annual Holiday Gift Guide can help you find the perfect gift for your favourite math-y people. From books to home-décor and everything in-between, you can’...

  Today is #NationalCookieDay and what better way to enjoy math than to incorporate it into a fun activity like baking cookies? Download our Snickerdoodle Baking Activity and Key, and share your cookie creations on social media! Be sure to tag ...

To find half of even numbers, sometimes it is useful to break apart the whole number into its parts. We can do this to find half of 26. Since 26 is composed of 2 tens and 6 ones, we can find half of 26 by finding half of 20 and half of 6. Half ...

Here is a number sense trick to subtract without borrowing. Let’s say we want to subtract 54 from 900. Since the digits in the ones and tens places of 900 are both less than the same digits in 54, we need to borrow to find the difference. Wi...

  A new year is right around the corner with an opportunity to start fresh. So we have a few suggestions that can help you and your child navigate the next 365 days for overall “math wellness” and success.             Making great choices fo...

  Our children’s long-term success depends on their ability to compete and collaborate with people around the world. There is one language they will all need to use, and it’s not English or French: It’s math. Unfortunately, Canadian students’ m...

A number is divisible by 9 if the sum of the digits is divisible by 9.   To determine if the number 738 is divisible by 9, we find the sum of its digits. Seven plus three plus eight gives us a final sum of eighteen. Eighteen is divisible by ...

Welcome to Mathnasium’s Math Tricks! Here’s a trick to calculate percentages using the commutative property of multiplication. Let’s do this! 👍   To find 48% of 50 means to multiply 48 x  x 50. We can use the commutative property of multi...

  In Canada, we use standard units such as centimetres and metres to measure many things, but have you ever used the furlong or fathom?   A furlong was historically used in land measurement and farming. The name means “furrow length.” The...

  Today is LEGO Day! You might know LEGO® bricks as the fun, colourful building blocks kids use to reconstruct the world, but did you know they also make great mathematical teaching tools? The near-infinite uses of LEGO bricks allow for near-in...

  Welcome to Mathnasium’s Math Tricks series. Our previous Math Tricks have looked at strategies for finding half of odd numbers whose tens digits are even. Today we are focusing on a strategy to find the half of any odd number, such as 99… or ...

  Studies show that children who are exposed to math early on are more likely to do well in school, not only in math but in other subjects as well1. And the benefits are likely to continue throughout their lives. Math comprehension instills ...

  Welcome to Mathnasium’s Math Tricks series. When kids learn their multiplication facts, they often first master their five times tables. But multiplying large numbers by five can get tricky. Today we are using the fact that five is half of te...

  It’s our favourite time of year again! March 14 marks another math holiday to celebrate the mathematical constant pi (π), reminding us that math is fun and applicable outside the math classroom. Pi is the ratio of a circle’s circumference ...

  Our expert team of math educators and enthusiasts has spent over 40 years developing and refining the most powerful teaching methods and materials into the comprehensive, industry-leading Mathnasium Method™. These “Ask Education” feat...

  Our expert team of math educators and enthusiasts has spent over 40 years developing and refining the most powerful teaching methods and materials into the comprehensive, industry-leading Mathnasium Method™. These “Ask Education” features...

  Welcome to Mathnasium’s Math Tricks series. Kids commonly fear fractions when they encounter them. The goal is to group specific fractions and observe patterns. With these patterns, we can develop “tricks” to compare them. Today we are using ...

  Our world is increasingly dependent on STEM, and today’s students need to acquire the knowledge and ingenuity to address its rapidly changing challenges. For example, we need environmental scientists to help make our world cleaner and safer, ...