How to Learn the 5 Times Table: Fives, Zeros and Clocks

The 5 times table is one of the friendliest. The answers have an obvious rhythm, children can count it on the fingers of their hands, and they see it every day on clocks and coins. That makes it a good confidence builder early on, and a useful stepping stone for harder tables later.

What is the 5 times table?

Fact	Answer	Fact	Answer
1 × 5	5	7 × 5	35
2 × 5	10	8 × 5	40
3 × 5	15	9 × 5	45
4 × 5	20	10 × 5	50
5 × 5	25	11 × 5	55
6 × 5	30	12 × 5	60

What does "5 times" actually mean?

5 × 4 means five groups of four, or four groups of five. Hands make this easy: four hands held up show four groups of five fingers, twenty in all. A picture of four groups of five shows the same thing, and a dot array shows it as rows. Children who can picture a fact can rebuild it when they forget.

Trick 1: How do you count in fives?

Count in fives out loud: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30… The rhythm comes quickly because the endings just swap between 5 and 0. Tap a finger for each step so your child knows which fact they've reached: the sixth finger is 30, so 6 × 5 = 30. Counting 5p coins or tally marks works well too. Once the counting is smooth, ask facts out of order.

Trick 2: Why do the answers end in 5 or 0?

Two fives make a ten, so every pair of fives lands on a number ending in 0. One more five lands on a 5. That gives a simple rule:

Multiply 5 by	Answer ends in	Examples
An odd number	5	5 × 3 = 15, 5 × 7 = 35, 5 × 9 = 45
An even number	0	5 × 4 = 20, 5 × 8 = 40, 5 × 12 = 60

This is a handy check. If your child says 5 × 7 = 30, they can spot that 7 is odd, so the answer has to end in 5.

Trick 3: What is the half-of-ten trick?

Five is half of ten, so 5 times a number is half of 10 times that number. Multiplying by 10 is easy, and so is halving:

• 5 × 6: 10 × 6 = 60, half of 60 is 30.
• 5 × 8: 10 × 8 = 80, half of 80 is 40.
• 5 × 7: 10 × 7 = 70, half of 70 is 35.
• 5 × 12: 10 × 12 = 120, half of 120 is 60.

You can also do it the other way round: halve the number first, then multiply by 10. Half of 8 is 4, so 5 × 8 = 40. This version works for big numbers too: 5 × 48 is half of 48, which is 24, times 10, so 240.

How does the 5 times table show up on a clock?

Each number on a clock face is five minutes on from the last one. When the minute hand points at the 4 it is 4 × 5 = 20 minutes past; at the 9 it is 9 × 5 = 45 minutes past. A child who knows the 5s can read minutes straight off the clock, so the two skills are worth practising together. Try it on the interactive clock, or read more in how to teach a child to tell the time.

Why is the 5 times table worth learning well?

Because harder facts can be split around it. To work out 7 × 8, start from 5 × 8 = 40 and add two more eights: 40 + 16 = 56. The 6 times table is the 5s plus one more group, and the 7 times table is the 5s plus the 2s. The 5s are an anchor in the middle of every table.

How can you practise the 5 times table at home?

• Five minutes a day on the 5 times table practice page, which starts without a timer.
• Point at a number on a clock and ask how many minutes past it shows.
• Count a pile of 5p coins, or nickels, and say the fact: "seven coins, 7 × 5 = 35".
• Print a 5 times table worksheet for a quick check on paper.

The 5s are usually learnt alongside the 2 times table and the 10 times table. See the best order to learn times tables for what comes next.