Multiplication - Number Line
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Basics on the topic Multiplication - Number Line
Multiplication on a Number Line
Multiplication is one of the basic operations in math. Multiplication can be explained as adding a number a certain amount of times. 5 multiplied by 3 for example can be represented as an addition chain like this: 5 + 5 + 5. However you can also represent multiplication on a number line. This is an easy way to visualise multiplication and to solve multiplication problems.
Multiplication on a Number Line – Example
You might be wondering, how to use a number line for multiplication; Multiplication using number lines requires you to follow some steps to set up the problem, and solve it. To do multiplication using a number line:
- Set up a number line for multiplication
- Write the multiplication read at the top. Here, we have two times three
- The first factor, two, tells you how many times to jump
- The second factor, three, tells us how many we are jumping by each time.
- Now complete the jumps! For two times three, we are doing two jumps of three, which lands us on our product, six
This is how you can use a number line model for multiplication.
Multiplication on a Number Line – Summary
Remember, to do multiplication on number lines, you should follow these steps:
| Step # | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Set up a number line. |
| 2 | The first factor tells you how many jumps you need to make. |
| 3 | The second factor tells you how many numbers to jump with each jump. |
| 4 | The number you land on is the product. |
You can find more interactive exercises, worksheets and further activities on multiplication using a number lines after the video.
Transcript Multiplication - Number Line
Mr. Squeaks and Imani are doing some online shopping with instant delivery. Items come in boxes of multiples, and Mr. Squeaks wants to calculate the total before ordering. Let's help them by using Multiplication on a Number Line. When multiplying on a number line, first, identify the factor pair. Here, we have TWO and THREE. The FIRST factor, TWO, tells us how many times we will jump and the SECOND factor, THREE, tells us how many we are jumping by EACH time. Starting from ZERO, we will do TWO jumps of THREE each time. From ZERO, ONE jump lands us on three, and TWO jumps lands us on six. The final number landed on is the PRODUCT. Two multiplied by three gives a PRODUCT of SIX. After taking some time to browse, it looks like Mr. Squeaks is going to order six boxes with two bottles of fur mousse in each box. With a number line ready, what is the factor pair we are multiplying here? It is SIX and TWO, meaning we will do SIX jumps of TWO each time. If we do SIX jumps of TWO, what number do we land on? One jump lands on two. Two jumps land on four. Three jumps land on six. Four jumps land on eight. Five jumps land on ten and SIX jumps land on TWELVE. What is the product of SIX and TWO? We landed on TWELVE, so this is our PRODUCT. SIX times TWO gives a PRODUCT of twelve, meaning they will order twelve bottles of fur mousse for Mr. Squeaks. Now they have added Mr. Squeaks fur mousse to their shopping basket, it's time to order Imani some rust free polish! Mr. Squeaks decides to order Imani three boxes with five containers of polish in each. With a number line ready, what is the factor pair we are multiplying? The factor pair is THREE and FIVE. What is the next step? The next step is to do THREE jumps of FIVE each. If we do THREE jumps of FIVE, what number do we land on? When we do three jumps of five, we land on FIFTEEN. What is the product of THREE and FIVE? The product of three and five is FIFTEEN, meaning they will order fifteen containers of rust free polish for Imani. While Mr. Squeaks and Imani submit their order and wait for instant delivery, let's review! Remember, first identify the factor pair. The first factor tells you the number of jumps, and the second factor tells you how many you are jumping by each time. The final number landed on after all jumps are completed is the PRODUCT.
"Wow, they really meant instant delivery, but what is that look, Mr. Squeaks?"
"This, Imani, is called fashion!"
Multiplication - Number Line exercise
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How many berries does Mr Squeaks order?
HintsHow many boxes does Mr Squeaks order? This is the number of jumps we need to make.
Each jump is equal to the number that is in the box. There are 2 berries in each box, so the jumps are in twos.
What number do we land on when we do three jumps of two?
Solution- The multiplication equation is 3 x 2.
- To solve this we can do three jumps of two.
- Three jumps of two gets us to six.
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How many items does Mr Squeaks order?
HintsHow many jumps are there? This is one factor in the equation.
What is each jump equal to? This is another factor in the equation.
What is the final number that is landed on? This is the answer to the equation.
Solution5 x 4 = 20 or 4 x 5 = 20
- There are 5 jumps
- Each jump is a jump of 4
- The final jump lands on 20
- Therefore 5 x 4 = 20 or 4 x 5 = 20
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Use a number line to multiply.
HintsThe first factor in the equation tells you how many jumps to make.
The second factor in the equation tells you how big each jump should be.
Whatever number you end up on is the answer.
Try drawing your own number line then drawing the jumps to solve the questions.
Solution4 x 2 = 8
3 x 3 = 9
6 x 3 = 18
8 x 2 = 16
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How many glow sticks did Mr Squeaks order?
HintsTry drawing your own number line, then make the jumps to find the answer.
How many glow sticks are in each box? This is equal to the size of each jump on a number line.
How many boxes does he order? This is equal to the number of jumps made on the number line.
This number line shows how we could solve the problem.
SolutionMr Squeaks ordered 4 boxes with 4 glowsticks in each box, so the equation to solve this is: 4 x 4 = 16.
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Imani's metal shine spray.
HintsImani orders 5 boxes. This is the first factor, so this is the number of jumps that we should make.
There are 3 cans in each box, so this is how many we jump each time.
What are 5 jumps of 3?
SolutionThe image shows that Imani's equation is 5 x 3, so we make 5 jumps of 3 which gets us to 15 as the total.
We could also get to 15 by doing 3 jumps of 5 or 3 x 5.
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Multiply on a number line.
HintsTry drawing your own number line. Remember that the first factor is the number of jumps needed.
Remember that the second factor is the size of each jump.
Whatever number you land on is the answer.
SolutionThis image shows the solutions correctly matched with each equation.
