TricksOctober 21, 2025· 3 min
Addition Trick: Making Tens
A simple mental-math trick that makes adding bigger numbers feel easy.
Tens are friendly numbers. Whenever you can turn a problem into 'something + 10', it gets easier.
Example
8 + 6: borrow 2 from the 6 to make 8 + 2 = 10, then add the leftover 4. 10 + 4 = 14.
Why it works
You're not changing the total — just regrouping. Your brain can add tens faster than odd numbers.