Properties of Multiplication

In Mrs. Essenburg's third grade classroom we have been working hard on learning multiplication!

One very important part of multiplication is understanding the different properties and how they help us solve problems. There are quite a few properties of multiplication.

There is the Zero Property.

In other words, any factor times 0 is always 0. 
So:

8 x 0 = 0
557 x 0 = 0 and
0 x 3,238 = 0.

There is the Identity Property.

Don't forget the Commutative Property.

That means that we can flip the factors around and we still get the same product.

So 3 x 7 = 21. But 7 x 3 = 21 too!
It works with addition as well.

Of course there is the Associative Property.

This means we can move the factors in all different places and if we use the same numbers we'll still get the same product.

So 1 x 2 x 3 x 4 = 24
But 4 x 2 x 1 x 3 = 24 as well.
So does 3 x 4 x 1 x 2!

Don't forget the Distributive Property. It's very important! It helps us to solve problems with larger numbers.

There will be more on the distributive property on the bottom of this post. It is so important it gets a special definition!

After learning about all of these properties, we made a paper slide video about what we've learned. Check it out below!

We also learned how to make a screencast to show more about how the Distributive Property works. A screencast is a short video explaining a skill. If we can teach a skill to others that shows a real understanding of that skill.

Please check out our screencasts below.

Here is Ashlyn and Izzy's screencast about the distributive property.



Here is Jillianne's screencast showing how to do the distributive property.

Here is Dorothy's screencast showing us how to use the distributive property when we multiply.


Here is Camden and Lainie's screencast about the distributive property.


Here is Jason and Andrew's screencast on the distributive property.



Here is Jackson and Brody's screencast showing the distributive property.


And here is Joey's example of the distributive property.



Understanding the distributive property is so important! It will help all of us as we move into multiplying larger numbers.

We have shared a lot of information about the different properties of multiplication. Please let us know what helps you when you multiply numbers. Do you use these properties, or do you use other strategies? Whatever strategy you use to help you with multiplication, we would love to hear about it. Please comment below.