How to Learn the 10 Times Table (Not Just Add a Zero)
By the TimesTable.co team · Updated · 3 min read
The 10 times table is the easiest of all, and many children pick it up in a few days. It is still worth doing properly, for two reasons. It is the first place children see how place value works, and almost every other table can be worked out from it.
What is the 10 times table?
| Fact | Answer | Fact | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 × 10 | 10 | 7 × 10 | 70 |
| 2 × 10 | 20 | 8 × 10 | 80 |
| 3 × 10 | 30 | 9 × 10 | 90 |
| 4 × 10 | 40 | 10 × 10 | 100 |
| 5 × 10 | 50 | 11 × 10 | 110 |
| 6 × 10 | 60 | 12 × 10 | 120 |
What does "10 times" actually mean?
10 × 4 means ten groups of four, or four groups of ten. Four groups of ten is the easier picture: four 10p coins, four full egg boxes of ten, or four people holding up all their fingers. Look at a dot array of 4 × 10 and count the rows in tens: 10, 20, 30, 40.
Trick 1: How do you count in tens?
Counting in tens sounds like counting in ones with "-ty" on the end: one, two, three becomes ten, twenty, thirty. Say it together, then carry on past 100: 100, 110, 120. Tap a finger for each step so your child knows which fact they're on. You can watch the hops on a number line.
Trick 2: What is the pattern in the 10 times table?
Write the number you're multiplying, and the answer underneath it. The same digits appear, shifted one place to the left, with a 0 filling the empty ones place:
| Number | Hundreds | Tens | Ones | Fact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 7 | 0 | 10 × 7 = 70 | |
| 9 | 9 | 0 | 10 × 9 = 90 | |
| 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 10 × 12 = 120 |
Seven ones have become seven tens. That's all multiplying by 10 does: it makes every digit worth ten times as much.
Why is "just add a zero" a risky rule?
It gives the right answer for whole numbers, so it is very tempting. But in a few years your child will meet 10 × 2.5, and adding a zero gives 2.50, which is the same as 2.5. The real answer is 25. If your child has learnt "the digits move one place to the left", the rule keeps working: the 2 moves from ones to tens and the 5 moves from tenths to ones. It is fine to notice the zero. Just describe it as a placeholder for the empty ones column, not as the trick itself.
Why is the 10 times table worth learning well?
Because it is the anchor for the hard tables:
- The 5 times table is half of the 10s: 10 × 8 = 80, so 5 × 8 = 40.
- The 9 times table is the 10s minus one group: 10 × 7 = 70, so 9 × 7 = 70 − 7 = 63.
- The 11 times table is the 10s plus one group: 10 × 7 = 70, so 11 × 7 = 77.
- The 12 times table is the 10s plus the 2s: 10 × 7 = 70, plus 14, is 84.
It also leads straight into bigger sums. 30 × 4 is 3 × 4 = 12, made ten times bigger: 120. That idea is the heart of long multiplication.
How can you practise the 10 times table at home?
- Five minutes a day on the 10 times table practice page, which starts without a timer.
- Count 10p coins, or dimes, and say the fact: "six coins, 6 × 10 = 60".
- Ask it backwards as division: "How many tens in 80?" Knowing both directions is what makes a fact stick.
- Print a times table chart and colour the 10s column to see the pattern.
The 10s are quick, so don't stay on them for long. Move on to the 2 times table and the 5s, following the best order to learn times tables.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 10 times table up to 12?
10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120.
What is the easiest way to learn the 10 times table?
Count in tens, then notice that each answer is the number you multiplied with a 0 after it: 10 × 7 = 70. The digits have moved one place to the left, into the tens column.
Why should children not be told to "just add a zero"?
Because the rule breaks with decimals: 10 × 2.5 is 25, not 2.50. Teaching that the digits move one place to the left gives the same answers for whole numbers and still works later.
When do children learn the 10 times table?
In England the 10 times table is taught in Year 2 (age 6 to 7), together with the 2s and 5s. It is often the very first table children learn.
Which 10 times table facts are hardest?
Usually 10 × 10 = 100, 10 × 11 = 110 and 10 × 12 = 120, because the answers go past 100. They follow exactly the same pattern: the number, with its digits moved one place left.
Which tables does the 10 times table help with?
The 5s are half of the 10s, the 9s are the 10s minus one group, and the 11s and 12s are the 10s plus one or two groups. It is the most useful anchor table of all.
How can you tell if a number is in the 10 times table?
It ends in 0. Every whole number ending in 0 is in the 10 times table.