Test Your Skills with Our Flashcards and Video

Multiplying by 10

When multiplying a single-digit number by 10, the pattern is straightforward. You take your original number and simply add a zero to the end. For example:

• 4 x 10: Imagine four groups of ten. If you add these together (10 + 10 + 10 + 10), you get 40. This means 4 x 10 = 40, which can also be seen as placing a zero after the 4 to get 40.

Multiplying by 100

Multiplying by 100 involves a similar pattern but with an extra step. Here, you add two zeros to your original number:

• 2 x 100: This can be thought of as two groups of one hundred. Adding these together (100 + 100) gives you 200. So, 2 x 100 = 200, which is the same as placing two zeros after the 2 to get 200.

Multiplying by 1000

When multiplying by 1000, the process is extended by adding three zeros to the original number:

• 9 x 1000: This can be visualized as nine groups of one thousand. Adding these (1000 + 1000 + 1000 + 1000 + 1000 + 1000 + 1000 + 1000 + 1000) results in 9000. Thus, 9 x 1000 = 9000, equivalent to placing three zeros after the 9 to form 9000.

Summarizing the Patterns

To see the overall pattern, let’s look at multiplying the number 7:

• 7 x 10: Results in 70 (seven with one zero).

• 7 x 100: Results in 700 (seven with two zeros).

• 7 x 1000: Results in 7000 (seven with three zeros).

In each case, the number of zeros in the multiplier (10, 100, or 1000) corresponds to the number of zeros added to the original number. This pattern helps simplify the multiplication process and makes it easier to handle larger numbers quickly and accurately.