The Trachtenberg Speed System of Basic Mathematics

The Trachtenberg Speed System of Basic Mathematics is a system of mental mathematics which in part did not require the use of multiplication tables to be able to multiply. The method was created over seventy years ago. The main idea behind the Trachtenberg Speed System of Basic Mathematics is that there must be an easier way to do multiplication, division, squaring numbers and finding square roots, especially if you want to do it mentally.

When solving equations it is not enough to just find the answer you also should prove to yourself you found the right answer. The Trachtenberg System shows you the tools to not only get the answer faster and easier but also how you can check your results easily.

Jakow Trachtenberg spent years in a Nazi concentration camp and to escape the horrors he found refuge in his mind developing these methods. Some of the methods are not new and have been used for thousands of years. This is why there is some similarity between the Trachtenberg System and Vedic math for instance. However, Jackow felt that even these methods could be simplified further. Unlike Vedic math and other systems like Bill Handley's excellent Speed Math where the method you choose to calculate the answer depends on the numbers you are using, the Trachtenberg System scales up from single digit multiplication to multiplying with massive numbers with no change in the method.

The Trachtenberg Speed System of Basic Math can be taught to children once they can add and subtract. They do not need to have learned the multiplication tables before being able to multiply using this system. The basic multiplication method taught in this system is ideal for children and for adults who feel they are poor at multiplying. The rules are easy to learn and it does not take much practice to become proficient.

Once a child or adult is comfortable with the multiplication tables there is the direct method of multiplication. When multiplying a two digit number by a two digit number, and also when squaring two digit numbers, the Trachtenberg System makes use of binomial expansion to make the calculation easier and faster than the more traditional method of multiplication.