Times Tables · Lesson 8 of 12

8 Times Table

Multiplying by eight is doubling three times. The last digits fall 8, 6, 4, 2, 0, and each fact is ten times the number minus two times it.

Primary
Updated 14 November 2026

What you will learn

Say and write the answers in the $8$ times table up to $8 \times 12$ .
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 $8$ times table lists $8$ multiplied by $1, 2, 3$ and so on up to $12$ . Each answer is the number of objects in that many groups of $8$ .

The whole table

The 12 by 12 multiplication grid with the 8 times table shaded. Read along the shaded row for 8 × 1 up to 8 × 12.

Patterns

Double three times: $8 \times 6$ is double $6 = 12$ , then $24$ , then $48$ .
Ten times minus two times: $8 \times 7$ is $70 - 14 = 56$ .
The answers are $8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48, 56, 64, 72, 80, 88, 96$ .
The last digits count down in twos: $8, 6, 4, 2, 0$ and then repeat.

Skip counting

Counting in steps of $8$ gives the answers one after another.

Six jumps of 8 from zero land on 8, 16, 24, 32, 40 and 48, the first six answers in the table.

An array

An array shows the same facts as rows and columns.

4 rows of 8. 4 × 8 = 32. Turn it on its side to see 8 × 4.

Worked examples

Example 1: Triple double

What is $8 \times 5$ ?

Double $5$ is $10$ , double $10$ is $20$ , double $20$ is $40$ .

Answer: $40$ .

Example 2: Ten minus two

What is $8 \times 9$ ?

$10 \times 9 = 90$ .
$2 \times 9 = 18$ .
$90 - 18 = 72$ .

Answer: $72$ .

Example 3: Spiders

How many legs do $6$ spiders have?

A spider has $8$ legs.
$6 \times 8 = 48$ : use $5 \times 8 = 40$ plus $8$ .

Answer: $48$ legs.

Eight is two more away from ten. For any number times $8$ , work out ten times it and take away two times it.

Why it matters

Eights show up in octagons, in the 8 bits in a byte, and in the number of legs on an octopus. The doubling and subtraction tricks work for other tables too.

Practice

Your turn. Type or choose an answer, then press Check. Getting one wrong is fine, that is what practice is for. You can try as many times as you like.