Skip to content
Oak National Academy
Oak National Academy
Teachers
Pupils
New
New
Year 4

Explain which is the most efficient factor to partition to solve a multiplication problem

I can explain which is the most efficient factor to partition to solve a multiplication problem.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils
New
New
Year 4

Explain which is the most efficient factor to partition to solve a multiplication problem

I can explain which is the most efficient factor to partition to solve a multiplication problem.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Multiplying a number by a group of numbers added together is the same as doing each multiplication separately.
  2. This means a factor can be partitioned to solve multiplication problems more efficiently.
  3. It is important to consider which factor to partition so that it enables you to solve a problem more efficiently.
  4. The factor being partitioned can represent the group size or the number of groups.

Common misconception

Children may inaccurately describe which factor has been partitioned to solve a multiplication problem.

Present children with lots of opportunities to create arrays, split them using a partitioning line and describe what they see before going on to use this to calculate.

Keywords

  • Multiples - A multiple is the product of a number and an integer.

  • Partition - Partitioning is the act of splitting an object or value down into smaller parts.

  • Distributive Law - The distributive law says that multiplying a number by a group of numbers added together is the same as doing each multiplication separately.

Have times table grids available as a scaffold for this lesson as it is not testing children's times table knowledge. Children can then focus on partitioning different factors.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Video

Skip video

Loading...

Starter quiz

Download starter quiz

6 Questions

Q1.
What is the missing number in the equation below? 8 × = 24
Correct Answer: 3
Q2.
What is the missing number in the equation below? 7 × = 56
Correct Answer: 8
Q3.
What is the missing number in the equation below? × 12 = 72
Correct Answer: 6
Q4.
Tick the two equations that show that multiplication is commutative.
Correct answer: 9 × 11 = 99
999 = 99 × 11
Correct answer: 99 = 9 × 11
Q5.
There are 500 potatoes shared amongst 24 crates. Match the objects with group size or number of groups.
Correct Answer:24 crates ,number of groups of potatoes

number of groups of potatoes

Correct Answer:500 potatoes,group size

group size

Q6.
Tick all the equations, showing the distributive law, that are represented by this stacked number line.
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: 5 × 6 + 1 × 6 = 6 × 6
6 × 6 = 24 + 12
Correct answer: 6 × 6 − 1 × 6 = 5 × 6

Exit quiz

Download exit quiz

6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these equations represents this image?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: 3 × 4 + 3 × 4 = 24
2 × 12 + 2 × 12 = 24
Q2.
Which of these equations represents this image?
An image in a quiz
1 × 4 + 5 × 4 = 24
Correct answer: 1 × 6 + 3 × 6 = 24
Q3.
Which number would fill all the gaps in this equation? (It is the same number for each gap.) × 6 + 4 × 6 = 7 × ___ + 7 × ___ = 42
Correct Answer: 3
Q4.
Tick the expressions that have a value of 45
Correct answer: 2 × 9 + 3 × 9
Correct answer: 5 × 3 + 5 × 6
5 × 9 + 2 × 9
Q5.
Tick the expressions that have a value of 54
Correct answer: 4 × 6 + 5 × 6
5 × 6 + 2 × 6
Correct answer: 10 × 6 − 1 × 6
Q6.
There are 6 squads of 16 players in a rounders competition. How many players are there in total? Use the distributive rule to calculate your answer.
Correct Answer: 96