Arithmetic Operations and Computation
Arithmetic computation questions reward clean technique more than raw speed. You must be fluent with the order of operations (brackets, indices, multiplication/division, addition/subtraction), with negative numbers, and with fractions and decimals. Learn to convert between fractions, decimals, and percentages so you can pick whichever form is easiest.
Use estimation and rounding to sanity-check answers, and use decomposition to compute quickly: 47 × 6 = (40 × 6) + (7 × 6) = 240 + 42 = 282. For division, think in terms of factors; for addition of long lists, pair numbers that sum to round values.
Traps to expect: sign errors when subtracting negatives; forgetting that multiplication and division rank equally and are done left to right; misplacing a decimal point when multiplying decimals; and careless cancellation in fractions. Distractors frequently reflect one of these slips, so a quick estimate will often eliminate two or three options immediately.
Worked example: 8 + 2 × (5 − 3)² = 8 + 2 × 4 = 8 + 8 = 16. A candidate who works strictly left to right gets 100 - a classic distractor. Rule of thumb: estimate the answer's rough size before computing, then confirm the exact value.