10 times table

The 10 times table: tens all the way

The 10 times table is 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120. Most children can say it before they learn it at school, because it is counting in tens. In 2nd grade they skip-count by 10s, and in 3rd grade the Common Core asks them to multiply one-digit numbers by multiples of 10 (like 9 × 80) using place value. In England the 10 times table is learned in Year 2, together with the 2s and 5s.

Multiplication by 10: why "add a zero" is only half the story

"Just add a zero" gives the right answer for whole numbers: 10 × 8 = 80. But what really happens is that every digit moves one place to the left: 8 ones become 8 tens. Teaching it this way pays off later, because "add a zero" fails with decimals (10 × 0.5 is 5, not 0.50). The place-value picture above shows the move.

The 10 times table helps with others

The 5 times table is half of it (5 × 6 = half of 60), the 9 times table is it minus one group (9 × 6 = 60 − 6), and the 11 times table is it plus one group (11 × 6 = 60 + 6). Knowing the 10s well makes three other tables easier.

10 times table games and worksheet

Play the trainer with four answer buttons; the wrong choices (16, 600, 66 for 10 × 6) catch the usual slips. The speed test is a fun challenge here: most children can answer quickly, so the goal is to beat the record. Like all our maths games, the 10 times table games play online, and the 20-question quiz at the end gives a diploma. The worksheet has 30 problems with an answer key, and the third sheet adds multiplication by 100 for 3rd and 4th graders.

A tip for parents

Play "money in tens" with dimes (or 10p coins in the UK): lay out 8 coins and ask how much it is. Then add four more and ask again: 12 × 10 = 120 cents, or $1.20. Counting real coins shows why the digit moves into the tens place.