Multiplication table

Patterns that make it easier

• Order doesn’t matter. 3 × 8 and 8 × 3 are both 24, so every fact you learn gives you two. The chart is a mirror image on either side of its diagonal.
• Square numbers sit on the diagonal. 1, 4, 9, 16, 25 and so on run from the top left corner to the bottom right. They are worth learning as a set.
• × 9: for 9 × 1 to 9 × 10 the two digits of the answer add up to 9 (18, 27, 36), and the tens digit is one less than the number you multiplied by.
• × 5: every answer ends in 0 or 5. It’s half of the 10 times table, so 5 × 8 is half of 80.
• × 11: for 1 to 9, just write the digit twice: 11 × 6 = 66.
• × 2, × 4 and × 8: each one is the one before doubled. To get 8 × 7, double 7 three times: 14, 28, 56.

How to practise

Learn one table at a time and start with the easy ones: 2, 5 and 10. Then do the square numbers, then fill in what’s left. Say the facts out loud, and once a table feels familiar, test yourself in random order rather than reciting it from the top, because that’s the order you’ll meet them in.

Use the chart to check answers, not to read them off. Cover a row, say the answers, then point at each square to see if you were right.

The grid also hides another pattern: a number above 1 that only shows up in row 1 and column 1, like 7 or 11, can’t be split into smaller factors. Those are the prime numbers, listed in full in the prime numbers list.