3 Fun Mind Reading Math Tricks

Activity Overview

Add a little bit of mathematical magic to your next magic act or simply slip this trick into regular conversation and wow your friends and family. These are exercises that are mental math tricks where the outcomes are always the same number. You may want to instruct your audience to keep the numbers that they start with less than 10 to keep their math calculations simpler, but no matter what numbers you use, the answers will be the same.

Materials Needed

• None

How to Do It

Trick One

1. Begin this trick by telling your audience that you can read their minds.
2. Pick an audience member at random.
3. Ask them to think of any number.
4. Now tell them to double the number and add 10 to the number.
5. Now have them divide the number in half. Then, subtract the original number from that number.
6. Peer into their eyes like you are thinking really hard and proclaim that the answer certain must be 5.
7. No matter what number is chosen, the answer will always be 5.

Trick Two

1. Come up with any digit below 10.
2. Multiply your number by 2.
3. Add 6 to your multiplied number.
4. Divide the digit by 2.
5. Subtract the first number you have thought from the latest number you have come with.
6. Peer into their eyes like you are thinking really hard and proclaim that the answer certain must be 3.
7. No matter what number is chosen, the answer will always be 3.

Trick Three

1. Ask a volunteer to come up with a number.
2. Have them subtract 1 from this number.
3. Multiply your answer with the number 3.
4. Add 12 to the number.
5. Divide the result by 3.
6. Add another 5 to the equation.
7. Deduct the first number you have thought from the last solution.
8. Peer into their eyes like you are thinking really hard and proclaim that the answer certain must be 8
9. No matter what number is chosen, the answer will always be 8.