Multiplication can be represented using number lines or by using repeated addition. These two strategies are just some of the many ways to multiply numbers. They are best used when introducing multiplication to help your students understand the concept of multiplication.
This article will show you how to multiply numbers using repeated addition and number lines.
What is multiplication?
But first, what is multiplication?
Multiplication is finding the product of two given numbers. It has factors and a product.
- Factors are the numbers that you multiply.
- A product is the answer to a multiplication question. It is the result of multiplying the factors.
Let’s look at the example 2 x 6 = 12. In this example…
- 2 and 6 are the factors
- 12 is the product
There are many ways to solve a multiplication problem. You can use arrays, equal groups, number lines, or repeated addition. In this article, we will focus on multiplying using number lines and repeated addition.
How to multiply using number lines?
Number lines are visual representations of numbers on a straight line. You can use them to draw jumps on the number line to show the number of groups in a multiplication sentence.
Let’s look at this example.
Lisa bought 3 packs of pencils. Each pack contains 5 pencils. How many pencils did she buy in all?
Think and answer these questions when solving this multiplication problem.
How many packs did Lisa buy? Lisa bought 3 packs. This means you need 3 jumps.
How many are in each pack? There are 5 pencils in each pack. For each jump, skip count by 5s.
To help you skip count, draw jumps on the number line while skip counting by 5s.
Think of each jump as one group or one pack of pencils. Since the problem asks for 3 groups of 5, make 3 jumps.
To find the product, mark the number where you ended the jump.
Multiply. 3 x 5 = 15.
So, Lisa bought 15 pencils.
Note: If you need help making number lines check out our tutorial here.
How to multiply using repeated addition?
Similarly, you can use repeated addition to multiply. Think of multiplication as how many there are altogether in equal groups.
Let’s look at this example.
Mr. Peters bought 5 packs of erasers. Each pack has 8 erasers. How many erasers did he buy in all?
To answer the word problem, think and answer these questions when solving a multiplication problem.
How many are in each pack? There are 8 in each pack. This is the number that you add repeatedly.
How many packs did Mr. Peters buy? Mr. Peters bought 5 packs. You need to add 8, 5 times.
He bought 5 packs with 8 erasers in each pack. You can also think of it as 5 groups of 8 or 5 x 8.
To help you solve this multiplication problem, you can add 8 by itself 5 times.
Then, the sum of the repeated addition is also the product.
Multiply. 5 x 8 = 40.
So, Mr. Peters bought 40 erasers.
These are just two ways to multiply numbers. If you need to know how to multiply using equal groups, click here to check out this blog post.
Practice Multiplying on a Number Line
You can use this free worksheet to practice multiplying on a number line!
If you are looking for more practice, click the images below to get these classroom activities!
Check out more activities on my TPT Store.
