What Is Multiplication?
⏱ 0:34📘 Grade 2 · Intro to multiplication
3 plates with 4 apples each: 4 + 4 + 4 = 12 becomes “3 fours”, written 3 × 4 = 12. With 10 plates, multiplication wins by a mile.
The videos are narrated in Mandarin Chinese with on-screen subtitles.
📚 What you will learn
- Equal groups: 3 plates with 4 apples on each plate is “3 fours”.
- Adding the same number again and again: 4 + 4 + 4 = 12.
- Multiplication is a quick way to add equal numbers: 3 fours is written 3 × 4 = 12 (or 4 × 3 = 12).
- In 3 × 4 = 12, 3 and 4 are the factors and 12 is the product. The sign × is read “times”.
- The more groups there are, the more time it saves: 10 fours is just 10 × 4 = 40.
🎙️ What the video says (in Chinese)
- 一个一个加，太慢啦！有没有更快的办法？我们来认识，乘法！
- 看，有 3 个盘子，每个盘子里有 4 个苹果。
- 一共有几个？我们来加一加：4 + 4 + 4 = 12。
- 3 个盘子，每盘都是 4 个，这就是 3 个 4。
- 3 个 4，可以写成乘法：3 × 4。3 × 4 = 12！又快又简单！
- 要是有 10 个盘子呢？加法要写好长好长！
- 用乘法，10 × 4 = 40，一下就写完啦！
✏️ Try it yourself
5 + 5 + 5 + 5 = ? Write it as a multiplication.
Show answer
4 fives: 4 × 5 = 20 (or 5 × 4 = 20)
There are 6 cars with 3 people in each. How many people?
Show answer
6 threes: 6 × 3 = 18 people
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