How Army Number Fluency works
A single short calculation appears. You work it out in your head, remember the answer and press Next. A second calculation replaces the first; you work that out and press Next again.
Then the question is simply which result was greater. The answer buttons are reported as First, Second or Last, and Same. The two calculations are never on screen together, so you carry the first answer while you work out the second, and you cannot go back to check.
Preparation sites describe the arithmetic as basic GCSE level, with around 40 items in 7.5 minutes.
How to compare two sums quickly
Use the same routine every time:
- Work the first calculation to an exact answer. “About fifty” is no use when the pair is 52 and 54.
- Say the first answer to yourself once, then let the calculation go.
- On the second, estimate first. Work it out exactly only when the estimate is close to the first answer.
- Carry a decision, not two numbers, to the answer screen.
- Remember that Same is a real answer, and pairs that come out equal do appear.
Worked example
The first calculation is 6 × 12. That is 72; hold “72” and press Next.
The second is 95 − 24. Ninety-five minus twenty is 75, and four less is 71. That is one below 72, so the first result was greater: tap First. The pair is close on purpose. Rounding the first to “about seventy” would have turned it into a guess.
Tips for the real Number Fluency section
- Refresh your times tables to 12 and quick subtraction across tens. That is where the time goes.
- Sit upright with your hand near the screen. An Army answer on preparing suggests this so you do not lose seconds between questions.
- If a division looks awkward, estimate, choose and move on. The Army’s practice advice is to make your best guess rather than stall.
- At 7.5 minutes for about 40 items, you have roughly 11 seconds for both sums and the answer, so keep each step short.
Practise Number Fluency on CogniPrep
Our Number Fluency drill runs for 7.5 minutes with no countdown on screen and fresh items until the time is up. The calculations use all four operations on whole numbers, every division comes out exactly, there is no calculator, and the buttons read First, Last and Same. Answers carry BARB’s guessing correction, right minus wrong divided by two, and you finish with a score out of 100 and an estimated GTI. The 7.5 minutes is a preparation site’s figure.