Multiplication: Fundamental Skills

What is Multiplication?

Multiplication is simply a quick and easy way to add. If I want to give 5 dollars to 48 people I could sit down and count our 5 dollars 48 times, which would take quite a long time. 💰 Or, I could work out 5 x 48 and realize that it equals 240, so I would simply need to bring $240 to my event, to give 48 people $5 each.

In math, you are going to have a lot of problems (e.g., word problems, algebra problems, etc.) that require you to multiply. If you really know your basic multiplication facts well, it will be easier for you in a lot of situations.

The Basics

Terms that are often used in multiplication are factors, result, multiple and product.

A factor is a number that’s multiplied by another number to get a result in a multiplication problem.

The answer in a multiplication problem is often the result, or the multiple or the product.

Note: A positive integer (number) that only has two factors — 1 and itself — is a prime number.

You will do a lot with factoring equations, and other expressions, in math—so learning basic multiplication facts is really useful (you can’t practice too much).

Memorize Your Multiplication Facts

Seeing multiplication problems a different way helps, because you will see it represented in different types of math problems in very different ways.

What number, if substituted for x, would make the below and above equations true?

Working with Double Digits

Sometimes you will need to work a problem out by hand…and working with double-digit multiplication usually requires you to do this. Don’t use a calculator for every tough problem—try working out a few by hand so that you can know this skill.