Multiplication Chart 1–12

How to read a multiplication chart

1. Find the first factor in the left column, for example 7.
2. Find the second factor in the top row, for example 8.
3. Follow the row across and the column down until they meet.
4. The number in that box is the product: 7 × 8 = 56.

Patterns to notice

• The chart is symmetric across its diagonal: 3 × 8 and 8 × 3 give the same product. A 12 × 12 chart has 144 boxes but only 78 different facts.
• The shaded diagonal holds the square numbers: 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, and so on up to 144.
• Every product in the 5s row ends in 0 or 5, and every product in the 10s row ends in 0.
• From 9 × 1 to 9 × 10, the digits of each product add up to 9: 18, 27, 36, 45.
• The 4s row doubles the 2s row, and the 8s row doubles the 4s row.
• From 11 × 1 to 11 × 9, the product repeats the digit: 11, 22, 33.

Which chart to print

• 1–10: the facts the Common Core standards expect students to know from memory by the end of grade 3 (all products of two one-digit numbers), plus the 10s.
• 1–12: the most common classroom chart; the 11s and 12s show up in dozens, inches, and months.
• 1–20: for older students exploring patterns, square numbers, and larger products.
• Blank 1–12: fill in the products as practice. Start with the 1s, 2s, 5s, and 10s, then use the symmetry to fill the mirror image.

From the chart to memory

A chart is a reference while the facts are new. As each family becomes automatic, cover that row and column, or switch to the blank chart and fill in only the facts still being learned. Short daily practice with a few facts at a time works better than long drills.