Telling the Total.

Get a third audience member to then look at that number, say,

447795, and find cards from the deck that match the number. If a
Let a person write down a row of six figures. Then write something digit is repeated there should be multiple cards; so the number
on a piece of paper and lay it aside. above means the audience member would find two 4s, two 7s, one
9, and one 5. Any zeros should be ignored (so for 56088 it should be
one 5, one 6, and two 8s). The remaining deck of cards should be set
Another person writes six figures beneath the first row. Then you
aside.
write a number of six figures. Another person obliges with a number
of six figures, and you do the same. When the sum is added, a total
is reached. Your paper is unfolded, and there is the answer! Using the cards selected from the deck, have an audience member
choose one at random and seal it in the envelope. Have the
envelope handed to another person at the far corner of the room,
Method: Note the first number written. Add to it 2,000,000, and
and have the audience member now read the remaining cards to
subtract 2. That is what you write on the piece of paper. Just put
you.
down 2 less than the number written, and put a figure 2 in front of
it!
You can now name the missing card and ask for the envelope to be
opened. Remove the blindfold, turn, and wait for the cries of
When the second number is written, you write your number. Just
disbelief.
add enough to each number in the second row to make each figure
total 9.
(No, really, you get cries of disbelief.)
When the fourth row is written, you write the fifth, and make the
fourth row total 9 for every figure. That will bring your, answer. So, how does the trick work?

Example: A person writes 347,628. On your paper write 2,347,626. Day of the Week:
Now the addition may appear like this: January has 31 days. It means that every date in February will be 3
First row............... 347,628 days later than the same date in January(28 is 4 weeks exactly). The
Second row............. 312,799 below table is calculated in such a way. Remember this table which
Your row............. 687,200 will help you to calculate.
Fourth row............. 810,204 January 0
Your row............. 189,795 February 3
Total............. 2,347,626 March 3
April 6
Ask a student to select two numbers, each of which is less than 10. May 1
Tell the student to choose either of the numbers and to multiply it June 4
by 5. July 6
Tell the student to add 7 to this result.
August 2
Multiply the resulting sum by 2.
Add it to the other number that was first selected. September 5
Have the student tell you the result. October 0
Now you can tell the student the two numbers that were first November 3
chosen and also the one which was multiplied by 5. December 5

I was just reading about a magic trick invented by Charles Peirce and Step1: Ask for the Date. Ex: 23rd June 1986
described by Martin Gardner and I wanted to mention my own Step2: Number of the month on the list, June is 4.
favorite in math magic tricks (also described by Martin Gardner). I’ve Step3: Take the date of the month, that is 23
done it 8 times and it has received quite a reception each time. I Step4: Take the last 2 digits of the year, that is 86.
have modified it slightly from the original to improve the Step5: Find out the number of leap years. Divide the last 2 digits of
presentation. the year by 4, 86 divide by 4 is 21.
Step6: Now add all the 4 numbers: 4 + 23 + 86 + 21 = 134.
Step7: Divide 134 by 7 = 19 remainder 1.
Supplies: deck of cards, calculator, envelope. Blindfold optional.
The reminder tells you the day.
Sunday 0
Turn your back to the audience, eyes closed. (The blindfold goes
Monday 1
here if you have one.)
Tuesday 2
Wednesday 3
Have an audience member pick any row, column, or diagonal on the
calculator. Thursday 4
Friday 5
789 Saturday 6
456
123 Answer: Monday

Have them type those three digits in any order (so it could be for Trick I
example 879, 528, or 195). Have them hit the “times” button on the Have your friend Think of a number between 1 and 100, and keep it
calculator. in secret.
Now, using a calculator, take your age, multiply by 2, add 5, multiply
Have another audience member pick a different row, column or by 50, and subtract 365
diagonal and type those three digits in any order, then hit equals. Next, keep that number from the last step on the calculator, hand
the calculator to your friend, and tell him to add his secret number,
and then add 115
The first half of the resulting number is your age, and the other part  Subtract the month of your birth
is your friend’s secret number.  Subtract the day of your birth
 Divide by 10
Write the number of brothers you have.  Add 11
Multiply by 2.  Divide by 100
Add 3.
Multiply the result by 5. And, amazingly, your friend's birthday will appear on the calculator
Add the number of sisters you have. screen! For example, let's suppose your friend was born on February
Multiply the result by 10. 29. Below, I repeat the sequence of instructions, showing the result
Add the number of living grandparents you have. at each step in red.
Subtract 150.
 Enter the number 7 (7)
Look at your answer.  Multiply by the month of your birth (7x2=14)
 Subtract 1 (14-1=13)
Your answer should equal the number of sisters,  Multiply by 13 (13x13=169)
brothers, and living grandparents that you have.  Add the day of your birth (169+29=198)
 Add 3 (198+3=201)
 Multiply by 11 (201x11=2211)
Now, go back and redo the problem using variables. Let "b" equal
 Subtract the month of your birth (2211-2=2209)
the number of brothers, "s" equals the number of sisters, and "g"
 Subtract the day of your birth (2209-29=2180)
the number of grandparents. Explain in words why this works.
 Divide by 10 (2180/10=218)
 Add 11 (218+11=229)
Think about the date of your birthday.  Divide by 100 (229/100 = 2.29)
Multiply the number of the month of your birthday by 5.
Add 7.
This will work every time! Try it!
Multiply by 4.
Add 13.
Multiply by 5. Of course, a real math trick will impress friends by giving you a real
Add the day of your birthday. aura of genius! To do this, don't let your friend do the last three
Subtract 205. steps - do them yourself in your head. Dividing by 10 or 100 or
Write your answer. adding 11 should be easy enough for a kid your age to accomplish in
your head, right? Or if you're not so sure, practice a bit with the
adult who gave you this.
Your answer should show the month and date of your birth.

So now, the instructions become :

Write down your house number.
Multiply by 2.
Add the number of days in a week.  Enter the number 7
Multiply by 50.  Multiply by the month of your birth (Eg, if your birthday
Add your age. was 29 February, you'd multiply by 2)
Subtract 365 (number of days in a year)  Subtract 1
Add 15.  Multiply by 13
Write your answer.  Add the day of your birth (eg, if your birthday was 29
February, you'd multiply by 29)
 Add 3
CHOCOLATE MATH - 2010
 Multiply by 11
 Subtract the month of your birth (eg 2)
1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that you would like to  Subtract the day of your birth (eg 29)
have chocolate (try for more than once but less than 10)  Tell me the result
2. Multiply this number by 2  (after mentally dividing by 10, adding 11, and dividing by
3. Add 5 100) Your birthday is February 29!
4. Multiply it by 50
5. If you have already had your birthday this year add 1760 ; If you If you are in Europe or Australia, you probably want February 29 to
look like 29.02, not 2.29. In that case, wherever you see month,
haven't, add 1759
write day, and vice-versa. For example :
6. Now subtract the four digit year that you were born
You should have a three digit number
 Enter the number 7 (7)
 Multiply by the day of your birth (7x29=203)
The first digit of this was your original number (i.e. how many times  Subtract 1 (203-1=202)
you want to have chocolate each week)  Multiply by 13 (202x13=2626)
 Add the month of your birth (2626+2=2628)
The next two numbers equal  Add 3 (2628+3=2631)
YOUR AGE! (Oh YES IT IS!!!)  Multiply by 11 (2631x11=28941)
 Subtract the day of your birth (28941-29=28912)
 Subtract the month of your birth (28912-2=28910)
 Enter the number 7  Tell me the result
 Multiply by the month of your birth
 Subtract 1
Then, mentally, do these steps
 Multiply by 13
 Add the day of your birth
 Add 3  Divide by 10 (28910/10=2891)
 Multiply by 11  Add 11 (2891+11=2902)
  Divide by 100 (2902/100 = 29.02) I bow to your superior intellect! (Just don't tell me the last
two steps, or you'll give it all away :-)
The result is clear. This trick is sure to make you seem like a real
math genius to your friends! They'll bug you again and again to find If the secret number had been 2, and I still chose October 23, the
out just how this math trick works. Don't tell them! answer would have been 492. If you toss out the last three digits,
there's nothing left - the secret number is therefore 0+2=2
By the way, if you like this one, you'll probably like my "threes"
birthday math trick as well! If the secret number is 1, you'll actually have a negative answer on
the calculator at the end, say -508. Try it! That's how you'll know the
So, if you're ready, study the steps below, practice with mom or dad, secret number is 1.
or a close friend, until you're sure you can get it right every time!
Actually, this trick can handle numbers much bigger than 20. But if
 First, ask your friend to choose a number from 1 to 20 (no the calculator shows 354920492, and you say the answer is 354922,
decimal points allowed!), and write it on a piece of paper. it would give the secret away, don't you think?
Make sure they hide the paper from you! Tell your friend
that you, the mathemagician, are going to use your pure If you're interested, here's a variation of this trick, that lets you
math genius to figure it out! extract people's birthdays. The mental math at the end is a little
 Give your friend a calculator, and ask them to follow these trickier, but you'll still be able to manage it, I'm sure!
simple steps :
o Enter the secret number Your friend should enter the following steps (I show in red what the
o Multiply by 3 calculator should show, if your friend's birthday is February 29).
o Add the secret number, then subtract 5.
o Multiply by 3, then multiply by 3 again.  Enter the month you were born (2)
o Add the secret number, then subtract the  Multiply by 3 (2x3=6)
number of their favourite month (you don't have  Add the month again (6+2=8), then subtract 4 (8-4=4).
to know what month that is!)  Multiply by 3 (4x3=12), then again by 3 (12x3=36).
o Multiply by 3, then multiply by 3 again, and then  Add the month again (36+2=38), then subtract 1 (38-
again a third time. 1=37).
o Add the secret number, then subtract their  Multiply by 3 again (37x3=111)
favourite day of the month (again, you don't  Now, add the day of their birthday (I'm using February 29
have to know what it is). as an example, so 111+29=140).
o Ask them to show you the result.  Multiply by 3 again (140x3=420), and again (420x3=1260).
 Now, you can guess their secret number... The number on  Finally, subtract 12 (1260-12=1248), then add the month
the calculator will be quite big, but that's no sweat - it will and the day they were born (1248+2=1250, then
just make you seem like more of a genius! 1250+29=1279).
 Here's how you figure it out :
o If the result is negative, their secret number was If your friend followed these steps correctly, then you can do some
1 (or they cheated) simple sums in your head to figure out their birthday :-
o If the result has only three digits, their secret
number was 2  Add one (1279+1=1280). This should always give a number
o Otherwise, you ignore the last three digits, and with a 0 on the end.
then add 2 to get their secret number!  Divide by 10 (1280 / 10 = 128), then finally,
 Add 101 (128+101=229).
Here's a couple of examples, to show you how it works!
Put a slash between the tens and hundreds digits, and you have your
 You're playing the trick on me, and I choose the secret friend's birthday, 2/29!
number 11.
 Then, you give me the instructions. I'll write the Of course, if you are in Europe or Asia or Australia, you'll want the
calculator's answers in red. 29th February to look like 29/2. To get that, just swap the words
o I enter my secret number (11). month and day in the above instructions, like so.
o I multiply by 3 (33).
o I Add the secret number (33+11=44), then
 Enter the monthday you were born (29)
subtract 5 (44-5=39).  Multiply by 3 (29x3=87)
o Multiply by 3 (39x3=117), then multiply by 3  Add the monthday again (87+29=116), then subtract 4
again (117x3=351). (116-4=112).
o Add the secret number (351+11=362), then  Multiply by 3 (112x3=336), then again by 3 (336x3=1008).
subtract the number of their favourite month (I'll  Add the monthday again (1008+29=1037), then subtract 1
choose October, and get 362-10=352). (1037-1=1036).
o Multiply by 3 (352x3=1056), then multiply by 3  Multiply by 3 again (1036x3=3108)
again (1056x3=3168), and then again a third time  Now, add the daymonth of their birthday (3108+2=3110).
(3168x3=9504).  Multiply by 3 again (3110x3=9330), and again
o Add the secret number (9504+11=9515), then (9330x3=27990).
subtract their favourite day of the month (I'll  Finally, subtract 12 (27990-12=27978), then add the day
choose the 23rd, so 9515-23=9492). and the month they were born (27978+29=28007, then
 Now, I show you the result. In your head (this is easy), you 28007+2=28009).
throw away the last three digits (9492), and add 2 (9+2=11
Tadaaah!) Then, in your head,
 You put on your best mathemagical frown of genius
concentration, the announce the answer! I stand amazed!
  Add one (28009+1=28010). 3. Have them double the face value of the card (aces = 1,
 Divide by 10 (28010 / 10 = 2801), then finally, jacks = 11, queens = 12, and kings = 13).
 Add 101 (2801+101=2902). 4. Ask them to add 3 to their result.
5. Ask them to multiply this by 5.
Adding the slash gives 29/02, just like you wanted! 6. Have them add 1 if their card is a club, 2 if it is a diamond,
3 if it is a heart, and 4 if it is a spade.
7. Ask them to tell you their number.
Practice this trick on family members, to make sure you know all the
8. To predict the card, subtract 15 from the final total. The
steps. Then, try it on your friends, to show what a genius you are!
right digit of the answer represents the suit of the card (1
= club, 2 = diamond, 3 = heart, 4 = spade). The left digit or
By the way, when you're practicing, be sure to practice on someone digits is the number value of the card. For example, if their
born on January 1st... see what happens! result is 83, the card is the 8 of hearts. If the result is 134,
the card is the king of spades.

Maths Trick 1 Can you figure out how this trick works?

STEP 1 What to do:

Ask a friend to write down a number (any number with more than 3
digits will do, but to save time and effort you might suggest a
1. Have your child shuffle the cards as many times as he
maximum of 8 digits).
want. When he is finished, tell him to memorize the
Example: 83 972 105
bottom card. Example: Ace of Hearts.
2. Ask him to put the deck on the table and turn over the top
STEP 2 3 cards.
Ask them to add the digits. 3. Tell your child to deal cards face down below each of these
Example: 8+3+9+7+2+1+0+5 = 35 3 cards. He should start with the number on the face-up
card (Aces = 1, Jacks = 11, Queens = 12, and Kings = 13),
STEP 3 and then keep dealing cards until he gets to 15. For
Ask them to subtract this number from the original one. example, if the face-up card is a 9, he would deal 6 more
Example: 83 972 105 – 35 = 83 972 070 cards to get to 15.
4. Ask him to keep the 3 face-cards on the table, and then
STEP 4 put all the face-down cards on the bottom of the deck.
Ask them to select any digit from this new number and strike it out, 5. Have him find the sum of the 3 face-up cards. (Example: 9
without showing you. + Queen (12) + 10 = 31) Tell him to deal out that many
Example: 83 972 070 cards, can then put them on the bottom of the deck.
6. Explain that you have supernatural powers and that you
can force any card to come out of the deck on you
STEP 5
command. Ask your child for the name of his card so that
Ask them to add the remaining digits and write down the answer
you can command it to come out. He says, “It was the Ace
they get.
of Hearts.”
Example: 8+3+9+7+0+7+0 = 34
7. Pretend to do some hocus-pocus as you say, “Ace of
Hearts, come forth!” Repeat your command, and then look
STEP 6 pleased with the result.
Ask them to tell you the number they get (34) and you will tell them 8. Your child, of course, won't see anything happen, but you
which number they struck out. insist that his card did come forth. Turn over cards off the
top of the deck one at a time and say, “Here's the first
Determine Your Birthday - Math Number Trick card, here's the second, here's the third, and the Ace of
Hearts comes fourth!” Turn over the fourth card and it will
Just follow the steps with a calculator or by hand for building math be your child's card!
skills! Go ahead and try the trick without cheating!
The secret:
 Add 18 to your birth month
 Multiply by 25 Each face-up card + counting up to 15 + the value of the card = 16.
 Subtract 333 So? Well, 16 × 3 face-up cards = 48. Then 48 + 4 (come fourth) = 52
 Multiply by 8 cards in the deck. So even though you didn't actually do magic this
 Subtract 554 trick will seem supernatural since your kid will go from wanting to
 Divide by 2 only see magic to wanting to know everything about math. Teach
 Add your birth date him how to perform it and how it's done through math and you'll
 Multiply by 5 have a practicing mathematician on your hands in no time.
 Add 692
 Multiply by 20
 Add only the last two digits of your birth year
 Subtract 32940 to get your birthday!
Choose a large number of six or seven digits.
What You Do: Step2: Take the sum of digits.
Step3: Subtract sum of digits from any number chosen.
1. Find someone to trick. Step4: Mix up the digits of resulting number.
2. Ask that person to pick a card from the deck and keep it Step5: Add 25 to it.
secret. Step6: Cross out any one digit except zero.
step7: Tell the sum of the digits. Subtract the sum of the
digits from 25.

 Have them take the month number from their

birthday:
January = 1, Feb = 2 etc.
 Multiply that by 5
 Then add 6
 Then multiply that total by 4
 Then add 9
 Then multiply this total by 5 once again
 Have them add to that total the day they were born
on. If they were born on the 18th, they add 18, etc.
 Have them give you the total. In your head, subtract
165, and you will have the month and day they were
born on!

How It Works: Let M be the month number and D will be the

day number. After the seven steps the expression for their
calculation is:

5 (4 (5 M + 6 ) + 9 ) + D = 100 M + D + 165

Thus, if you subtract off the 165, what will remain will be the
month in hundreds plus the day! That's Pretty Cool Math
Stuff!