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Topic 02 · 12 lessons

Times Tables

A times table lists the answers when you multiply a number by 1, 2, 3 and so on up to 12. Knowing them well makes fractions, division, area and algebra much easier, because you stop spending your effort on the arithmetic.

Each lesson takes one table, shows where its answers come from, points out the patterns that make it easier to remember, and ends with practice that checks every answer. There is no timer: speed comes from understanding first.

Lessons in this topic

  1. 2.11 Times TableMultiplying by one leaves a number unchanged. One group of any number is just that number, and any number of groups of one is that many ones.
  2. 2.22 Times TableThe 2 times table is the doubles. Every answer is even, and each answer is two more than the one before.
  3. 2.33 Times TableThe 3 times table counts in threes. Each answer is a double plus one more group, and the digits of every answer add up to a multiple of three.
  4. 2.44 Times TableMultiplying by four is doubling twice. Every answer is even, and the last digits repeat in the cycle 4, 8, 2, 6, 0.
  5. 2.55 Times TableThe 5 times table counts in fives. Every answer ends in 5 or 0, and it matches the minutes on a clock face.
  6. 2.66 Times TableThe 6 times table is the 5 times table plus one more group. Every answer is even, and the double of the 3 times table.
  7. 2.77 Times TableThe 7 times table has no single trick, but most facts can be built from the 5 and 2 times tables. Only a few are new once you know the rest.
  8. 2.88 Times TableMultiplying by eight is doubling three times. The last digits fall 8, 6, 4, 2, 0, and each fact is ten times the number minus two times it.
  9. 2.99 Times TableMultiplying by nine is ten times a number minus the number. In the first ten answers the digits add to nine.
  10. 2.1010 Times TableTo multiply by ten, move every digit one place to the left. For whole numbers it looks like adding a zero on the end.
  11. 2.1111 Times TableUp to nine times, the answer repeats the digit: 11, 22, 33 and so on. Eleven times a number is ten times it plus one more.
  12. 2.1212 Times TableTwelve times a number is ten times it plus two times it. It is also the double of the 6 times table, and a dozen is twelve.

Chart and practice

The big ideas

a)Equal groups
6×46 \times 4 means six groups of four. Every table is just skip counting in equal steps.
b)Order does not matter
3×73 \times 7 and 7×37 \times 3 give the same answer, so each fact you learn is really two facts.
c)Patterns help
The nine times table digits add to nine, the five times table ends in 0 or 5, and the ten times table just adds a zero.
d)Build from what you know
If you know 5×7=355 \times 7 = 35, then 6×76 \times 7 is 35+7=4235 + 7 = 42. New facts grow from old ones.

Worked example

Seven rows of six

A hall has 77 rows of 66 chairs. How many chairs are there?

  1. Write it as a multiplication: 7×67 \times 6.
  2. Use the order trick: 6×76 \times 7 is the same, so count in sevens six times, or use 5×7=355 \times 7 = 35.
  3. Add one more seven: 35+7=4235 + 7 = 42.

Answer: There are 4242 chairs.

Where you will meet it

Counting eggs in boxes, working out the cost of several items, telling the time in fives, and sharing things equally all use the times tables.

The wider field

Times Tables also covers these ideas, which build on the lessons above:

  • The 1 to 12 times tables
  • A 12 by 12 multiplication chart
  • Mixed practice