Remember that you can switch the numbers around and get the same result.

So, if you know that 7 x 8 = 56, then you also know that 8 x 7 = 56.

2 x (two times)

If you multiply a number by 2, you are simply adding that number to itself (doubling it).

For example:

2 x 8 = 16 (8 + 8) and 2 x 30 = 60 (30 + 30).

4 x (four times) and 8 x (eight times)

When multiplying a number by 4, you are doubling it twice, and when multiplying by 8, you are doubling it 3 times.

For example,

4 x 7 = 28 (7 doubled is 14, and 14 doubled is 28)

8 x 7 = 56 (7 doubled is 14, 14 doubled is 28, and 28 doubled is 56).

10 x (ten times) and multiples of 10

When you multiply a number by 10, you simply add a 0 to the end of the number.

So,

6 x 10 = 60, and 50 x 10 = 500

You can also multiply by multiples of 10 by initially ignoring the 0s, multiplying the other two numbers, and then appending the 0s back on the end.

5 x 50 = 250 (5 x 5 = 25, append the zero to make 250) and 9 x 70 = 630 (9 x 7 = 63, append the zero to make 630)

6 x 700 = 4200 (6 x 7 = 42, add the zeros to make 4200).

11 x (eleven times)

The first nine are easy – just repeat the number you’re multiplying by.

For example:

2 x 11 = 22, 3 x 11 = 33 up to 9 x 11 = 99

9 x (nine times)

Append a zero to each number to be multiplied by 9 (i.e. multiply by 10) and then subtract the original number.

For example:

4 x 9 (append a zero to the 4 to make 40, and then take away 4) = 36

14 x 9 (append a zero to 14 to make 140, and then take away 14) = 126

30 x 9 (append a zero to make 300, then take away 30) = 270

Quick method for 1 x 9 up to 10 x 9

Hold out ten fingers and then bend the digit (finger or thumb) relating to the number to be multiplied by 9. The number of digits either side indicates the answer.

For example: 4 x 9

Bend down finger 4 and note that there are 3 digits to the left of this and 6 to the right. So 4 x 9 = 36!

4 x 9 = 36