Concepts

Multiplication is a mathematical operation performed on a pair of numbers (factors) in order to find a third number called a product. For positive integers, multiplication consists of adding a number (the multiplicand) to itself a specified number of times. Multiplying can be demonstrated as multiple sets of objects. The first number being multiplied is how many sets there are, and the second number is how many objects are in each set. When these two numbers are multiplied, the result is how many objects there are in total.

Rules

To solve word problems involving products:

• Find the number of sets.

• Find the number of things in each set.

• Multiply to find the total number of objects.

Example

There are 23 boxes of pencils on the store shelf. Each box holds 12 pencils. How many pencils are there in all?

Solution

To solve word problems involving products:

Find the number of sets:

There are 23 sets of boxes

Find the number of things in each set.

There are 12 pencils in each box

Multiply to find the total number of objects

23 x 12 
= (3 x 12) + (20 x 12) 
= 36 + 240
= 276

There are 276 pencils

Prerequisite Skills

Multiply Two-Digit Numbers (4.6.6)

Multiply Three-Digit Numbers by Two-Digit Numbers (4.6.7)