10-15-2003, 07:45 PM
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tandard1483
Vedic Math: Crunch more in less time!
SHRADDHA KAMDAR | Wednesday, October 15, 2003 12:6:50 IST
Thousand-year-old 'sutras' can put the modern math methods to shame
Scientific techniques developed thousands of years ago, mentioned in
the Vedas, are now being utilised by America's National Aeronautic &
Space Administration (NASA) and form a part of the curriculum in
European schools.
Sadly, however, they have lost importance in the country of origin.
Vedic Math, as it is called, is extracted from 16 'sutras' and 13
sub-'sutras' of the Vedas. It is a set of techniques, which can be
applied to a wide spectrum of mathematic topics, to reduce the
calculation time to one-tenth
of the actual time of any traditional method.
Professor Atul Gupta, an IIT engineer who chanced upon a book on
Vedic Math about a decade ago, was intrigued by it and learnt from
it. The process was long, but nonetheless interesting and fruitful.
Later, he thought of sharing his knowledge. Prof Gupta now has
school students, IIT aspirants, housewives and retired persons who
are simply math enthusiasts learning from him. "It is so
fascinating, it has turned math-haters into math-lovers," claimed
the professor.
Useful for Arithmetic, Algebra, Calculus, Trigonometry and
Astromomy, the techniques are easy to learn and remember. The
professor had this reporter so awe-struck with the methods, that it
was difficult to wind up the interview and move out of his class.
And he had not even touched the tip of the ice-berg. "Now you can
imagine what a treasure this is. It should be passed on to our
future generations," said Prof. Gupta. In that regard, he has
already conducted several workshops with school children.
"These techniques are very helpful for IIT aspirants, as the
entrance exam papers are full of such questions. If they save even
about 10 minutes over all, imagine how many more questions they'd be
able to attempt!" said Prof. Gupta for whom clearly Vedic Math is
not just something he teaches, but is also a passion.
(For more details, contact 2551-3728, 2557-7553).
How long does it take to divide 257910 by 9?
Using a Vedic Math technique, the answer can be arrived at in a
couple of seconds! How?
It's simple.
Add all the digits of the number 257910 and reduce it to a single
digit: 2+5+7+9+1+0=24. Reduce 24 further -- 2+4=6, which is the
remainder.
Another way is by removing the digit 9 while adding. Or even the
digits that add up to 9. For example, in 257910 don't use 9, 2 and
7. By adding the remaining digits, you still get the correct answer,
i.e. 5+1+0=6.
This technique, called 'Navashesh', is applicable to any number, but
only while dividing it by 9. It has a wide range of applications, to
check humongous multiplications and additions.
Another technique is finding the square of a number ending in 5. For
example, for squaring 85, all you have to do is take the square of
5, i.e. 25, at the end, and multiply 8 by the next arithmetic digit,
9 (8x9=72) and the answer is 7225
section=fromthepress&subsection=inbombay&xfile=October2003_inbombay_s
tandard1483
Vedic Math: Crunch more in less time!
SHRADDHA KAMDAR | Wednesday, October 15, 2003 12:6:50 IST
Thousand-year-old 'sutras' can put the modern math methods to shame
Scientific techniques developed thousands of years ago, mentioned in
the Vedas, are now being utilised by America's National Aeronautic &
Space Administration (NASA) and form a part of the curriculum in
European schools.
Sadly, however, they have lost importance in the country of origin.
Vedic Math, as it is called, is extracted from 16 'sutras' and 13
sub-'sutras' of the Vedas. It is a set of techniques, which can be
applied to a wide spectrum of mathematic topics, to reduce the
calculation time to one-tenth
of the actual time of any traditional method.
Professor Atul Gupta, an IIT engineer who chanced upon a book on
Vedic Math about a decade ago, was intrigued by it and learnt from
it. The process was long, but nonetheless interesting and fruitful.
Later, he thought of sharing his knowledge. Prof Gupta now has
school students, IIT aspirants, housewives and retired persons who
are simply math enthusiasts learning from him. "It is so
fascinating, it has turned math-haters into math-lovers," claimed
the professor.
Useful for Arithmetic, Algebra, Calculus, Trigonometry and
Astromomy, the techniques are easy to learn and remember. The
professor had this reporter so awe-struck with the methods, that it
was difficult to wind up the interview and move out of his class.
And he had not even touched the tip of the ice-berg. "Now you can
imagine what a treasure this is. It should be passed on to our
future generations," said Prof. Gupta. In that regard, he has
already conducted several workshops with school children.
"These techniques are very helpful for IIT aspirants, as the
entrance exam papers are full of such questions. If they save even
about 10 minutes over all, imagine how many more questions they'd be
able to attempt!" said Prof. Gupta for whom clearly Vedic Math is
not just something he teaches, but is also a passion.
(For more details, contact 2551-3728, 2557-7553).
How long does it take to divide 257910 by 9?
Using a Vedic Math technique, the answer can be arrived at in a
couple of seconds! How?
It's simple.
Add all the digits of the number 257910 and reduce it to a single
digit: 2+5+7+9+1+0=24. Reduce 24 further -- 2+4=6, which is the
remainder.
Another way is by removing the digit 9 while adding. Or even the
digits that add up to 9. For example, in 257910 don't use 9, 2 and
7. By adding the remaining digits, you still get the correct answer,
i.e. 5+1+0=6.
This technique, called 'Navashesh', is applicable to any number, but
only while dividing it by 9. It has a wide range of applications, to
check humongous multiplications and additions.
Another technique is finding the square of a number ending in 5. For
example, for squaring 85, all you have to do is take the square of
5, i.e. 25, at the end, and multiply 8 by the next arithmetic digit,
9 (8x9=72) and the answer is 7225