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Parents' Guide to

Mathemagics -- Mental Math Tricks

By Dana Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 12+

Terrific tool for learning speedy math tricks.

App iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad Paid Education
Mathemagics -- Mental Math Tricks Poster Image

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What you will—and won't—find in this app.

  • Mathemagics -- Mental Math Tricks App: Screenshot #1
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Privacy Rating Warning

  • Unclear whether personal information is sold or rented to third parties.
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  • Unclear whether data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
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What’s It About?

Kids can choose from three modes of play on MATHEMAGICS -- MENTAL MATH TRICKS: Learn, Practice, and Play. In Learn, kids choose a trick to learn from a list by tapping "Tricks." Tricks ranging from multiplication to perfect squares pop up with step-by-step explanations to read. Kids practice the tricks in Practice mode by once again choosing a trick from the same list and answering a number of multiple-choice practice problems related to that trick. If kids aren't getting the correct answers, they can view the lesson from that mode again. In Play mode, kids answer random tricks in random order.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

Mathemagics -- Mental Math Tricks is perfect for kids who want to do math problems faster, as long as they are willing to try thinking about them from different angles to learn the tricks. For kids who are not inclined to enjoy mental gymnastics, the tricks taught on this app may be frustrating. For example, to multiply any number by 99, the trick teaches kids to multiply that number by 100 and subtract the original number from the result in the first step to get the answer. Some kids may find that incredibly cool and remember the trick and apply it during tests; others may prefer just to write it out as a standard multiplication problem and solve. In the hands of willing kids, this is a fantastic math app. For others, it will likely be more frustrating than functional.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Do you have any math or spelling tricks that you learned when you were in school? Share them with your kid.

  • Talk with your kid about why learning tricks like this and thinking about numbers in different ways is good for your brain, like flexing your mental muscles!

App Details

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