algebra

addition

estimation

multiplication

There are separate centers in the brain for learned math and estimation.

The brain cannot relearn the ability to estimate once that skill has been lost.

With targeted practice, it is possible for the brain to become more accurate at estimation.

If the learned math center in the brain is injured, the estimation center will also be injured.

Animals can be trained to recognize numbers in a lab setting but not in the wild.

Animals use number sense to help them find food, avoid predators, and locate shelter.

Number sense is one of the main features that distinguishes humans from other animals.

Many animals possess a number sense that is as highly developed as that of an average adult human.

Both the ability to estimate and formal math skill are totally determined by genetics.

Students who excel at formal math often experience gains in their ability to estimate.

If a person has a strong ability to estimate, then he or she is also likely to be good at formal math.

Researchers have determined that there is no clear relationship between the ability to estimate and formal math skill.

because the vocabulary of multiplication is too complicated

because most people just use calculators to solve multiplication problems

because the memory systems in our brains are too small to hold all of the multiplication facts we learn

because we store multiplication facts in our brains as groups of words instead of using our number sense