Parallel addition (mathematics)
Parallel addition is a fancy way of saying you're adding big numbers by breaking them down into smaller numbers you already know how to add. It's like putting together a puzzle piece by piece instead of trying to do it all at once.
Let's say you need to add 27 and 38. You could write it out like this:
27
+38
---
65
But with parallel addition, you would break these numbers down into their "tens" and "ones" places (you can think of these as the big puzzle pieces and the smaller puzzle pieces). So the "tens" place in 27 is 20 and the "ones" place is 7, and the "tens" place in 38 is 30 and the "ones" place is 8.
Then, you add the "tens" together and the "ones" together separately:
20 7
+30 8
------
50 15
Now, you have your answer in two separate pieces: 50 for the "tens" and 15 for the "ones". But since we usually write numbers all together, we add them back up:
50
+15
----
65
And there's your answer! Parallel addition can be a helpful way to add bigger numbers in your head or on paper without getting overwhelmed.
Let's say you need to add 27 and 38. You could write it out like this:
27
+38
---
65
But with parallel addition, you would break these numbers down into their "tens" and "ones" places (you can think of these as the big puzzle pieces and the smaller puzzle pieces). So the "tens" place in 27 is 20 and the "ones" place is 7, and the "tens" place in 38 is 30 and the "ones" place is 8.
Then, you add the "tens" together and the "ones" together separately:
20 7
+30 8
------
50 15
Now, you have your answer in two separate pieces: 50 for the "tens" and 15 for the "ones". But since we usually write numbers all together, we add them back up:
50
+15
----
65
And there's your answer! Parallel addition can be a helpful way to add bigger numbers in your head or on paper without getting overwhelmed.