What Is Multiplication?

Multiplication is a mathematical operation that puts together or combines groups of equal sizes. It's essentially a Repeated Addition, basically adding the same number several times.
For example:

(2 times 4) means adding 2 four times: (2 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 8).

Multiplication is used in many daily situations and different fields. For example, it helps calculate totals when adding the same number multiple times, such as finding the total cost of several items, it's also used in scientific and engineering fields, in finance and in many aspects of life and profession.

Remember! Multiplication is basically a Repeated Addition of a group of numbers with the same value.

Here you can visualize how multiplication works

multiplication example with repeated addition

Instead of writing long equations, you just combine groups of numbers with the same value and it becomes easier to read and work.

Below some examples are provided for you to understand more about multiplication.

Example #1

This visual representation can greatly improve the understanding of multiplication.

Imagine you have (' 4 ' four) groups of apples and each group has (' 4 ' four) apples.

The Repeated Addition for this will be ' 4 apples ' + ' 4 apples ' + ' 4 apples ' + ' 4 apples ' = ' 16 apples '

But for the multiplication it would be ' 4 ' x ' 4 ' = ' 16 '

You can practice multiplication here with this amazing multiplication training board.

Example #2

A number line is one of the simplest and most intuitive ways to visualize multiplication:

Parts Of Multiplication

The parts of multiplication are mainly 3 (multiplicand, multiplier and result or product), but we can also identify the multiplication sign and the carry-over section.

Multiplicand:

It is the number that is being multiplied.

Multiplier:

The number by which we multiply.

Product:

It is the result obtained.

*Carry-over Section:

Although this section is not a proper part of multiplication, it's still useful to consider as part of it to help kids understand multiplication better.

Multiplication Symbol:

The sign that represents a multiplication process.

Solving Multiplication Problems

Solving multiplication problems depends on the complexity of the given problem. For example, when we are working with one-digit numbers we can simply use the Multiplication Tables.

Solving Multiplication Problems With Regrouping

When we work with larger numbers specially with 2-digit numbers we have to use the regrouping method, which involves carrying over the first digit of the product of a 2-digit number.

You must repeat this process for each column if necessary until you've completed the multiplication.

Use our training board to master the process of multiplication.

1) We write the numbers ' 582 x 7 ' vertically with the larger number on top ' 582 '.

2) Multiply the bottom number ' 7 ' by the last digit of the top number ' 2 '. Then we have ' 7 x 2', which equals ' 14 '.

3) If the obtained result is greater than ' 9 ', we must split the result, in this case ' 14 ', and carry over the first digit ' 1 ' while the last digit ' 4 ' must be written below.

4) Here we can see how we carried over the first digit ' 1 ' and wrote the second digit ' 4 ' below. At the end, if you read it from top to bottom it must be ' 1 4 ' not ' 41 '

5) We continue with the process, we multiply ' 7 ' by the next digit ' 8 ' and then we get ' 7 x 8 = 56 ' . This time we must add together the number ' 1 ' on the carry-over section. The result is now ' 56 + 1 = 57'.