Number Sense and Schoolastic Aptitude

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Hi guys-

I'm kinda curious about something so I want to ask you guys to do a little test. I'm purposely making it quick and easy so if you have a few minutes I'd appreciate if you could answer a few questions. I want to see how your number sense compares to what you achieved in math classes. This is purely arithmetic; addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. ***PLEASE DO NOT POST THE ACTUAL ANSWERS***

Instructions.

* Each category will have a number. EX. addition is 1), subtraction is 2, etc.
* Each category will have 5 choices marked A)-E) that are progressively more difficult.
* Your goal is to calculate in your head starting at A) and going to E) ***PLEASE DO NOT USE A CALCULATOR OR PAPER TO ARRIVE AT THE ANSWER*** You may record your answer on paper after you have calculated it in your head to help in the calculator step below.
* The answer you choose for each category will be the hardest you can answer (you are confident your answer is correct) in less than approx. 30 seconds.
* Your answers should look something similar to this example- 1)B, 2)C, 3)A, 4)E
* After you have completed the 4 sections please use a calculator if you need to and state whether your answer was correct.
* Please also state how well you did in math classes. EX- "I was an A student and found it easy" "I got straight F in math" etc.

** Some of you have taken the WISC and WAIS IQ tests. If you happen to know what your arithmetic score was I would be grateful if you include it. And feel free to leave comments you think are important. JUST DON"T POST THE SOLUTIONS PLEASE.

Here are the questions-

1) Addition

A) 8+7 B) 23+64 C) 242+689 D) 7248+2653 E) 45627+53421


2) Subtraction

A) 6-3 B) 74-38 C) 723-676 D) 3909-2815 E) 98237- 54921


3) Multiplication

A) 6x8 B) 24x9 C) 845x6 D) 543x27 E) 327x739

4) Division

4) 8/2 B) 28/7 C) 588/7 D) 5136/8 E) 40446/6

Thanks for taking the time to answer this

The hardest I could answer confidently - and my actual results:
1) D - I got D wrong, but I got E correct
2) E - I got D and E wrong.
3) C - I got B wrong, C correct, and couldn't come up with an answer for the other two readily.
4) B - I gave up after B.

I struggled some in math class. I had a hard time learning the concept of regrouping in subtraction, and it took me until 6th grade before I understood long division. Some concepts I grasped readily, others I didn't. And to this day, I still have to count on my fingers.

1)E 2)E 3)C 4)E
Math was hard for me grades 1-4 during which memorization was a big part of it. But I always grasped the concepts immediately. After 4th grade I was good at math, it was enjoyable.

Guys could you post your age to please? Thanks.

1) B
2) A
3) A
4) B

I didn't check my answers with a calulator because I was extremely confident they were correct. My rubbish scores reflect my maths ability. I was awful at maths all through school and for my WAIS III maths no score was shown but it said:

Addition:
I thought I could get up to "E" correctly, and I did.

Subtraction:
I'm horrible at subtraction. Without paper, I only thought I could get up to "B", which I did.

Multiplication:
I'm good at multiplication, but for anything bigger than the basic times tables, I need paper. I thought I could get up to "B" without paper. I got that wrong. Only got "A." I screwed up on "B" where I thought I would- remembering without paper what numbers to carry over.

Division:
I thought I could get up to "E", and I did.
---
First of all, I have NVLD, so my math skills, especially mental math, are far below what they should be for my IQ. I have taken the WAIS, but I do not remember my arithmetic score. I'm sure it was average, at best. I am 25 now; I took the WAIS when I was 19.

For whatever reason, I can "see" addition and division much easier without paper. I can line up the numbers mentally, and I think it's because I don't have to carry numbers over on the top. Keep in mind, though, that I only got so far with addition and division because you had the problems written down for me to refer to. If these had been VERBAL math problems to do without paper, I wouldn't have even been able to remember enough to do anything past problems "A" for subtraction and multiplication, or "B" for addition and division.

Lastly, my performance as a math student is a very complicated thing, due to my NVLD. Up through high school, I always got "A"s and "B"s in my math courses, and I always took honors-level math courses. However, as can be expected, my scores on tests were extremely scattered, despite managing to get an "A" or "B" overall in the courses. A big reason I have been able to get so far in math is largely due to my photographic memory. I have relied on my memory by memorizing how to do different types of word problems, step by step, even though I often have no clue why I'm doing what I'm doing.

I have always done extremely well with algebra. It is the only math I understand. Algebra classes are the only math classes I've ever received 100% on a test. I'm abysmal with visual-spatial math like geometry and trig. I literally failed a couple of tests in those courses.

For college-level math, I have gotten through calc II, and it's much the same. I got a "C" in both calc I and calc II, but once again, this was from scattered skills. I'm pretty good at derivatives, as this is largely a rule- and algebra-based process, but I'm terrible at integration. The very concept of integration is visual-spatial, and I struggle with even the most basic of integration equations, because it's hard for me to "see" how to "undo" the differentiation and work backwards.

Oh, and one other area of math that I do shine at besides algebra is statistics. I got "A"s in both my college-level stats courses (non-calculus-based stats; got up through mixed ANOVAs), and I was a stats TA one semester. The stats for my area of research uses algebra only and logic principles for understanding, and that's why I excel.

I'm 20 and 6 months tomorrow.

1) A - C easily. I could've done D and E if I could write the numbers down as soon as I had worked out one number at a time, but without this, I couldn't remember all the numbers that I worked out.

2) A and B easily. C-E the same reason as above.

3) A and B easily. I would actually need paper to work C - E out, not just as I said above.

4) A - C easily, but I did it as multiplication. For me to work out C - E, I would need paper.

I got an A* in both my GCSE exams, but an A in my coursework, giving me an A overall.
For AS I got A, B, A*, and for A2 I got A*, B, C, giving me an A overall in A-level Maths.

I'm really bad at applying my knowledge. I memorise things, which means that if I see something that I haven't seen before, I don't know how to do it. For example, in my mock S2 papers, I was getting A*'s all the time as the papers were similar, but I got a C in the end as the paper was quite a bit different.

My history of how I was in Maths is long and hard to explain.

In Primary school from years nursery - 5, I was at the same school and wasn't very good. I moved in year 6 and suddenly was very good. When I started High school the next year (year 7), I was in set 4/6 where 1 was top. In year 8 I was in set 3/6. In year 9 and 10 I was in set 2/6, but my teacher wanted to move me up in year 9 as I was a level 8 in my classwork, but only got a level 6 (1 mark off a 7) in my year 9 SATS. At the end of year 10, we did a mock GCSE paper and I got the highest in my class, a C, so I was moved up to set 1/6 for year 11. Then at the end of year 11 I got an A overall, where I got A*'s in both exams but an A in the coursework (which I did in year 9, and my teacher wouldn't teach me enough to get above an A because I wasn't in top set). I don't know why there was a big jump from year 5-6 and year 10-11, but there was.

In general, I did well in my GCSE's because I somehow managed to focus and not get too nervous. Before I had always under performed in exams.

May I make a suggestion? The division problems should possibly involve more numbers in the "divided by" part (is that the divisor?) as they get more difficult. I could easily do all of them in my head--more easily than I could do even the addition problems.

1.)E
2.)E
3.)C
4.)B

I'm 47.
I do well in math given time and if the subject is fresh in my head. Went through Trigonometry and Statistics in College. (Earned my degree at 40, 3.8 gpa)
My problem with division is that I never memorized the multiplication tables. The best I could do in grade school was to memorize a few that stuck out to me, (e.g.- 6x6=36) and add/subtract from there. Still do it that way in my head.
I worked out C for the division in less than 30 seconds but it took me a good minute to change my frame of mind and get started.
Calculators are my friend.

1)D
2)D
3)C
4)E (I can divide pretty easily by a single-digit number, but when you start getting into long division, forget it.)

I stank at math of all varieties all through school until I took a course patronizingly titled "Math for Humanities Majors" in college and did very well. It was mostly statistics-type stuff.

I don't think I've ever taken a WAIS or WAIC. I had an IQ test when I was 6 years old, but never knew the results. I got a 10 out of 30 in the math section of the ACT. I got in the mid-to-high 20s in every thing else.