Multiplication is related to many other kinds of math -- it can be thought of as the opposite
of division, or as the repeated addition of a number. But if you want to think about it
on its own, multiplication is just a way to increase a number multiple -- or many -- times.
A multiplication problem has four parts: The number being multiplied is the factor. The
number you will multiply the factor by is the multiplier. You can tell because it's
after the multiplication symbol, or times sign, which means "multiplied by." The number
you get when you multiply the fact and the multiplier together is the product.
If a cake recipe calls for 2 eggs per cake, and you want to make 3 cakes, 2 is the factor,
3 is the multiplier, and the number of eggs you need to make 3 cakes -- 6 -- is the product.
You can write this as "2 x 3 = 6"
Let's multiply a larger number. Stack 12, the factor, on top of 4, the multiplier. Like
addition and subtraction, you do a multiplication problem from right to left, so multiply 4
and 2 in the ones place.
If you don't know the product of two numbers, you can check the multiplication table. It's
a list of answers to simple multiplication problems using the numbers 1 through 10. According
to the table, the product of 4 and 2 is 8, so put an 8 below the line in the ones place.
Any number times one equals itself, so put a 4 below the line in the tens place. The
answer, or product, is 48.
Those are the basics of multiplication. Until you know the multiplication table, remember
that you can always add a number multiple times or use a calculator.