Key words for times tables

Here are some of the words which will crop up when doing multiplication questions. Have a look below to see what they mean.

Factors
One number is a factor of another number if it divides, or 'goes into' it exactly, with no remainders.
So, 5 is a factor of 20, but 5 is NOT a factor of 23 because if you tried to divide 23 by 5 you'd be left with a remainder of 3.

Groups of
4 groups of 2 are 8
4 x 2 = 8

Lots of
2 lots of 5 are 10
2 x 5 = 10

Multiple
Multiples are the numbers you find in any times table. The multiples of 7 are the numbers in the 7 times table, 7, 14, 21, 28 and so on.

Multiply
There are lots of ways of talking about multiplication. The sum 3 x 4 = 12 can be written as:

• 3 times 4 = 12
• 3 multiplied by 4 = 12
• 3 lots of 4 are 12
• the product of 3 and 4 is 12
• 3 sets of 4 are 12
• three fours are twelve

Prime number
A prime number is a number which nothing else will go into except 1 and itself. Prime numbers don't appear in any other tables.
So 3 is a prime number because only 3 and 1 go into it.
12 is NOT a prime number because lots of numbers go into it, like 1, 12, 2, 6, 4, etc.

Product
The product is the answer that you get when you multiply numbers together. The product of 5 and 4 is 20.

Sets of
3 sets of 3 are 9
3 x 3 = 9

Times
4 times 4 = 16
4 x 4 =16

You'll find more maths words explained in the Skillswise Glossary.