Multiply by 1-digit numbers: FAQ

The distributive property is a rule in math that lets us break apart a multiplication problem into smaller parts to make it easier to multiply.

For example, if we want to multiply $123 \times 6$123, times, 6, we can break $123$123 down into $100 + 20 + 3$100, plus, 20, plus, 3, and then use the distributive property to multiply each part by $6$6:

Try it yourself with these exercises:

Similar to the distributive property, we can use area models to make multiplication easier. An area model is a way of visualizing a multiplication problem by drawing a rectangle and dividing it into sections. It can help us understand how different parts of the problem work together.

The following area model shows $3{,}538\times5$3, comma, 538, times, 5 broken into parts.
The image is not drawn to scale.

Try it yourself with these exercises:

Estimating products can help us check our work and get a rough idea of what the answer might be before we start multiplying.

Practice estimating products with this exercise:

Different methods may work better for different people, so learning multiple methods can help you find the one that works best for you. Understanding more than one way to solve a problem can deepen one's understanding of the mathematical concepts involved, as opposed to just memorizing one procedure.