6 Times Table

What you will learn

• Say and write the answers in the $6$ times table up to $6 \times 12$.
• Use the patterns in the table to check your answers.
• Use the table to solve simple word problems.

Before you start: you should know multiplication as equal groups. See Multiplication: Equal Groups and Arrays.

The idea

The $6$ times table lists $6$ multiplied by $1, 2, 3$ and so on up to $12$. Each answer is the number of objects in that many groups of $6$.

The whole table

Patterns

• Five times plus one more: $6 \times 7$ is $5 \times 7 = 35$ plus $7$, which is $42$.
• Double the 3 times table: $6 \times 4$ is double $3 \times 4 = 12$, which is $24$.
• The answers are $6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, 54, 60, 66, 72$, all even.
• For an even number times $6$, the answer ends in the same digit: $6 \times 2 = 12$, $6 \times 4 = 24$, $6 \times 6 = 36$.

Skip counting

Counting in steps of $6$ gives the answers one after another.

An array

An array shows the same facts as rows and columns.

Worked examples

Example 1: Five and one more

What is $6 \times 8$?

1. $5 \times 8 = 40$.
2. Add one more $8$: $40 + 8 = 48$.

Answer: $48$.

Example 2: Double the threes

What is $6 \times 9$?

1. $3 \times 9 = 27$.
2. Double it: $54$.

Answer: $54$.

Example 3: Eggs

How many eggs are in $7$ boxes of $6$?

1. $7 \times 6$: use $5 \times 7 = 35$ and add $7$.
2. $35 + 7 = 42$.

Answer: $42$ eggs.

The facts $6 \times 6 = 36$ and $6 \times 7 = 42$ are the ones most people find tricky. Build them from the 5 times table instead of guessing.

Why it matters

Sixes help with hexagons, half dozens and the six faces of a cube. They also sit in the middle of the table, where the strategies you learn here carry over to the 7, 8 and 9 times tables.