It's this: How do you mentally process simple addition/subtraction facts? What actually happens in your brain to elicit 16 when you hear 7+9? (for example)What a fascinating question! I had to think for a minute to try and analyze how I do that sort of mental arithmetic, but in the end I realized what I do.
Why do I ask?
Three adults I asked today:
#1: I visually see 7 fingers and 9 fingers and move one finger from the 7 to the 9 to make 10, and 10 and 6 are 16. But it happens instantaneously. (visual concrete... strategic)
#2: I simply visualize the 7 and the 9 and "see" a 16 as the missing third party. (visual symbolic... pattern,grouping)
#3: I roll the tape from my parochial school days: "7 plus 9 is 16." (Actually a Spanish tape, though the person has spoken high-level English for 30 years.)(auditory... linear)
I seem to have a visual stack that goes up to 10, so I put the 9 into stack, then move 1 from the 7 to fill the stack, leaving me with 10 in the stack and 6 left over. I guess this is #1 but with more of a number-line visualization rather than fingers :-)
HTH, Sarah
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