Printable Abacus Manuals and Tutorials
ABACUS: MYSTERY OF THE BEAD
The Bead Unbaffled - An Abacus Manual
Rather than learn online, many prefer to work using printed material. Given the large number of images in the manuals and tutorials, these Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) files offer the best solution for printing. There are two options. The first is the manual as it appears on the internet. Supplemental further examples may be printed separately. The second manual includes all the supplemental material. Essentially it's all the files rolled into one.
   ▪ The Bead Unbaffled (19 pages, 403 kb pdf)
   Supplemental further examples in Adobe Acrobat (pdf) format:
   addition   subtraction   multiplication   division   division revision   mechanization
   ▪ The Bead Unbaffled (complete) (40 pages, 681 kb pdf)


Abacus Exercise Sheets

All of the following exercise sheets are in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format. Each of the files is about 24 kb in size and contains three pages of exercises. Each section offers two printing options; either with or without the answers included on the page.
 
   ▪ Addition with answers
   ▪ Addition without answers
   ▪ Subtraction with answers
   ▪ Subtraction without answers
   ▪ Mixed addition & subtraction with answers
   ▪ Mixed addition & subtraction without answers
   ▪ Multiplication with answers
   ▪ Multiplication without answers
   ▪ Division with answers
   ▪ Division without answers


Takashi Kojima's Abacus Examination Examples

In Japan the Abacus Committee of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry would hold examinations for individuals wishing to obtain a license to work as an abacus operator. The examinations began at the tenth grade level (least difficult) and worked up to the first grade level (most difficult). Those individuals who passed first, second or third grade examinations qualified for employment in government or business concerns. The examples in the file below come from Takashi Kojima's book entitled, The Japanese Abacus, It's Use and Theory. The examples illustrate sixth grade through third grade questions.
   ▪ Examination Examples (9 pages, 84 kb pdf)
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A Little History: What began in 2004 as a couple of small help files illustrating some little known abacus techniques has since grown into a whopping 350+ mega bytes of techniques & tutorials. Every new addition has contributed to making these pages the best and most extensive resource for learning abacus anywhere.
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- Totton Heffelfinger

Totton Heffelfinger  Toronto Ontario  Canada
 Email
totton[at]idirect[dot]com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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