Multiplication Facts in 3 Minutes

Transcript

Knowing your multiplication facts cold is like having a superpower in math class — every fraction, division, and word problem gets easier when the answers just appear in your head. So let's learn the tricks that make the hard facts stick.

First trick: multiplication works in both directions. Three times four is the same as four times three — both equal twelve. That one idea cuts the number of facts you need to learn almost in half. If you know six times nine is fifty-four, you automatically know nine times six is fifty-four too.

Second trick: the easy tables give you anchors. Anything times ten just gets a zero on the end — seven times ten is seventy. Anything times five ends in five or zero, and you can find it by counting by fives: five, ten, fifteen, twenty. Anything times two is just doubling — eight times two is sixteen. Use those anchors to reach nearby facts. Need six times twelve? Take six times ten, which is sixty, then add six times two, which is twelve, and you get seventy-two.

Third trick: the nines have a beautiful pattern. Look at the answers: nine, eighteen, twenty-seven, thirty-six, forty-five. The tens digit goes up by one each time while the ones digit goes down by one, and the two digits always add up to nine. So for nine times seven, think: one less than seven is six, and six plus what makes nine? Three. The answer is sixty-three.

Fourth trick: attack the troublemakers directly. The hardest facts for most kids live in the sixes, sevens, and eights. Seven times eight is fifty-six — remember it as five, six, seven, eight: fifty-six equals seven times eight, the numbers in a row. Six times seven is forty-two. Eight times eight is sixty-four. Say the stubborn ones out loud a few times each day and they'll stick.

Now the mistake to avoid: mixing up a fact with its neighbor, like saying seven times eight is fifty-four when fifty-four is really six times nine. When you're not sure, check yourself with an anchor — seven times eight must be bigger than seven times seven, which is forty-nine, so fifty-six fits and forty-eight doesn't.

Here's your recap. Flip facts around to learn two at once, lean on the tens, fives, and doubles as anchors, use the nines pattern where the digits add to nine, and drill the stubborn sixes, sevens, and eights out loud. Now show off with the practice quiz.