The 9s finger trick
Hold up ten fingers. For 9 × 4, fold down your 4th finger. Fingers to the left of the fold are tens, fingers to the right are ones.
9 × 4 → 3 left | 6 right → 36
Maths with Raj Kumar · KS2 to A Level
Mathtastic
Quick-fire sums, times tables, fractions and number puzzles, plus a daily challenge and your homework in one place. Every right answer earns XP, so you can climb from Counter all the way to Mathtastic Legend.
Tutor's tip: ten minutes a day beats an hour once a week.
Today
Your daily challenge and homework
Daily challenge
Streak: 0 daysFive questions, the same for everyone in your year group. A new set appears at midnight. Answer all five, then press Mark my answers.
Homework
0 setSign in to see homework from Raj.
The arcade
Pick a game
7 × 8 = ?
Press Start sprint. You have 60 seconds to answer as many as you can.
Score0
Streak0
Time60
Best0
Use the keypad or your keyboard. Press Enter to check.
Tap a number in the top row to practise that times table. Hover over the grid to see where each answer comes from.
Practise the 7 times table
7 × 4 = ?
Ten questions. Can you get all ten?
Look at the slices, then choose.
Score0
Streak0
I'm thinking of a whole number from 1 to 100. Each wrong guess unlocks another clue. Fewer guesses means more points.
Your guesses
None yet
Guesses0
Points up for grabs60
Leaderboard and trophies
How you're doing
Class leaderboard
Sign in to see your class leaderboard.
Badges are collected when you're signed in. As a guest, your XP is saved on this device only.
Tricks of the trade
Six tips worth knowing
Times by 11
For a two-digit number, add its digits and put the total in the middle. If the total is 10 or more, carry the 1.
11 × 43 → 4 (4+3) 3 → 473
11 × 75 → 7 (12) 5 → 825
Equivalent fractions
Multiply or divide the top and bottom by the same number. The size of the fraction stays the same.
2/3 = 4/6 = 8/12
15/20 ÷ 5 → 3/4
Percentages in your head
Find 10% by dividing by 10. Then build up: halve it for 5%, double it for 20%.
35% of 80
10% = 8 → 30% = 24
5% = 4 → 35% = 28
BIDMAS
Brackets, Indices, Division and Multiplication (left to right), then Addition and Subtraction (left to right).
3 + 4 × 2²
= 3 + 4 × 4
= 3 + 16 = 19
Solving for x
Whatever you do to one side of the equation, do to the other. Undo the operations in reverse order.
3x + 5 = 20
3x = 15 (−5 both sides)
x = 5 (÷3 both sides)
A Level corner
Stretch yourself: problems to try
For A Level students, or anyone at GCSE who fancies a challenge. Have a go, then bring your ideas to your next lesson.
Matrices
Matrix matchings
Match each diagram to its transformation and the matrix that does it: rotations, reflections, enlargements and stretches. Print it, cut it out and sort.
From MEI
Logarithms
Logarithm lattice
Arrange logarithms in a grid so they increase along every row and down every column, without a calculator.
From Underground Mathematics
Functions and graphs
Curve match
Five curves between (0, 0) and (1, 1). Can you label each one, then invent a new curve that only meets them at the ends?
From Underground Mathematics
Maths magic
Numbers that always come back
Try your own numbers. Can you work out why they always land in the same place?
The 1089 trick
Pick a 3-digit number where the first and last digits differ by 2 or more. Reverse it and take the smaller from the bigger. Then add that answer to its own reverse.
Kaprekar's 6174
Pick a 4-digit number that uses at least two different digits. Arrange its digits biggest-first and smallest-first, then subtract. Repeat with the answer.
Maths in the real world
When will I ever need maths?
All the time! Tap a poster to see it full size.
Be a Champion: the maths and science of sport
An exhibition by Amandine Aftalion, illustrated by Estelle Chauvard, presented by VideoDiMath. Ten posters that answer questions every athlete asks.
Your tutor
About Raj Kumar
Mathematics Lead Practitioner
- Lessons are tailored to build your child's confidence, so they achieve their true potential.
- Proven teaching and learning strategies are used to engage, motivate and challenge your child.
- Online resources, like this site, develop your child's fluency, reasoning and problem-solving skills.
Raj Kumar has over 20 years' experience of teaching mathematics in secondary schools in Yorkshire. He has been a Mathematics Adviser for over 10 years, playing a significant role in raising standards in mathematics. He has worked alongside a variety of senior leadership teams to support teachers and students to raise attainment and improve progress in mathematics. Raj firmly believes in the power of collaboration around planning, teaching and reviewing impact.
As an independent lead practitioner, he now works with:
National STEM CentreNCETMFurther Maths Support ProgrammeMaths HubsTeaching Schools
Raj supports the improvement of teaching and learning in mathematics classrooms through coaching, modelling and team teaching. He enjoys leading professional development of all types and has developed a rich repertoire of supportive and engaging ways of challenging thinking and stimulating ideas.
Raj was a member of the National Strategies' mathematics pedagogy group and helped write materials that were distributed to all maintained schools in England. He has also written many resources to support teachers and mathematics teams. He is passionate about mathematics and believes that teaching the key concepts is crucial to successful learning.
Got a question about lessons?
Raj is happy to help. Email mathtastic1@outlook.com to ask about tuition from KS2 to A Level.
Kind words
What students and parents say
From students in Year 5 to Year 11 and their families, in Leeds, Surrey, Milton Keynes and online.
18testimonials
Grade 9sat GCSE Maths and Further Maths
A*at A Level Maths
Raj has taught me Maths and Further Maths for several years and thanks to his thorough and precise teaching, I achieved grade 9s in both subjects. He is extremely patient and supportive, especially when I find a topic challenging. His lessons are always engaging and he uses unique, practical methods such as 3D shapes and other visual tools to make difficult concepts easier to understand. My older sister Laraib was also taught by Raj and achieved grade 9s in Maths and Further Maths and an A* at A Level Maths. My younger sister now learns with him too and we have recommended him to other family members. I would highly recommend Raj to anyone who wants to thrive and excel in Maths.
Raj taught my daughter Maths for the last half of Year 10 then Year 11, having weekly lessons online. She was achieving grade 2/3 when Raj started to teach her and was very low in confidence. She has dyslexia and struggled to understand the ways in which she was taught in school. Raj would go over what she didn’t understand at school and find a new way to help her and explain things to her in different ways until she did understand. This helped build confidence for her school lessons too. She just got her GCSE results and achieved a grade 5. She was over the moon with this result.
Mr Kumar is the first person in history to actually make maths fun!
Raj was very knowledgeable about both the curriculum and the confusing new maths exam. He was able to target his support to help my daughter achieve much higher than she had aimed for. He was consistently clear, calm and patient. Definitely to be recommended.
Thanks for being such an amazing Maths teacher to me. The last few years have helped me in achieving a grade 9. You have helped explain tricky concepts to me in better ways than my school teacher could.
He has helped in areas I found difficult and now maths is my favourite subject. Thank you Raj, you have made maths for me, which was impossible, possible!
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Raj was able to explain things clearly and help me understand better than teachers could. He was great with exam technique.
James started with low confidence and managing dyslexia and has massively built his confidence and subsequent performance under Mr Kumar’s patient and fun approach to learning.
Raj was incredibly patient and helpful with my daughter in the build up to her GCSE Mathematics. He adapted his teaching to support Holly with her dyslexia. Thank you Raj.
Jo got a 9 in GCSE maths and a 6 in Further Maths. Huge thanks to you for all your input. He’s really chuffed!
Since Raj has been tutoring my daughter, she has gained confidence and actually enjoys maths very much. Raj is very patient and understanding and has his own way of teaching maths which has helped my daughter a great deal. Thank you for all your support.
I really enjoy it now since I am more confident and it’s all thanks to Raj. He has helped in areas I found difficult and now maths is my favourite subject.
Raj has helped me so much with maths. He teaches me new ways to understand topics and makes it interesting to learn about them.
Raj has helped our daughter to not only understand but also begin to enjoy maths. Her confidence in maths has grown considerably since she began her tutoring with Raj.
Mr Kumar is very nice, caring and always knows how to explain things to me so that I understand the maths topic.
My tutor Raj Kumar was a great tutor who got me a grade C in my maths. Throughout my maths studies Raj was the best tutor. He got me the grade I wanted to be a teaching assistant. Thank you Raj!!
We were introduced to Raj through one of his existing students, which was important to us given they too were very pleased. Raj tutors both our daughters and although they have different learning styles, they are both delighted with Raj’s tutoring and find it really helpful to stay ahead of what they are learning in school. It has certainly made a positive difference.
Thank you for the endless support and teaching over the years as I don’t know if I would have made it this far without you and your help. I wish you all the best for the future and a billion thank yous!