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Lesson 5 of 5
  • 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.

Lesson 5 of 5
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.

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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.

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.

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.


To help you plan your year 4 maths lesson on: Explain which is the most efficient factor to partition to solve a multiplication problem, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

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 (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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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

Assessment exit quiz

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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