Repeated adding to times
You learn to turn an addition of the same number into a multiplication and work it out.
How to work it out
- If you keep adding the same number, you make a multiplication.
- Count how many times the number appears: that is the first number of the multiplication.
3 × 4
A worked example
5 + 5 + 5 + 5
- Look at which number keeps appearing: that is 5.
- Count how many times the number appears: that is 4 times.
- Write the multiplication and work it out: 4 × 5 = 20.
More examples
6 + 6 + 6
- The number 6 appears 3 times.
- Write the multiplication: 3 × 6 = 18.
8 + 8 + 8 + 8 + 8
- The number 8 appears 5 times.
- Work it out: 5 × 8 = 40.
Try it yourself
How many times is 3 there? Fill in the first number of the multiplication
3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 = ? × 3
How many times is 7 there? Fill in the first number of the multiplication
7 + 7 + 7 + 7 = ? × 7
Watch out
You mix up the number and the count: you write 5 + 5 + 5 as 5 × 5.
Count how many numbers there are first. That count is the first number in the multiplication.
Tips
- First count how many groups there are, then do that count times the size of each group.
Why it works
Multiplication is a quick way of adding the same number over and over. Instead of writing four fives and adding them, you write 4 × 5. That saves a lot of writing and works out faster.