What Is Multiplication?

Multiplication can be defined in the following way: Assume that you have a number $a$ (where $a$ can be any number). If you add $a$ to itself $b$ times, that can be written like this:

$$\underset{b\text{ times}}{\underbrace{a+a+\cdots +a}}$$

This can be tiresome in the long run, especially when $b$ becomes large. That’s where multiplication enters the picture. By definition, the sum above can also be written like this:

$$\underset{b\text{ times}}{\underbrace{a+a+\cdots +a}}=b\times a$$

This means that $a$ added to itself $b$ times is the same as $a$ multiplied by $b$.

The numbers that are multiplied together are called factors, and the answer is called a product.

This might look a little odd—it might not be how you learned about multiplication before. So here’s an example to clarify.

Multiplication problems with whole numbers (integers) between 1 and 10 are organized in the times tables. You should learn this table by heart.