Here is a question to chew on: 34 × 26. That looks like a hard sum to do in one go. But what if we could break it into easier multiplications and then add them together?

How could we split 34 and 26 into smaller, friendlier pieces?

The interactive splits each multiplication into a grid of smaller boxes. Watch how each factor breaks apart along the sides, and how the boxes fill in. Each box is one partial product; we add them all for the total.

Now we build one together: 47 × 38. We split each factor into its tens and units — 47 becomes 40 and 7 down the side, 38 becomes 30 and 8 along the top. That makes four boxes, one partial product in each. Fill in each of the four boxes with its partial product, then add them all for the total.

Today we work through these four products together, each one a step harder: 47 × 38, then 152 × 24, then 263 × 35, then 318 × 46. Split both factors into their place-value parts, fill in every partial product, and add them for the total.

What we learned

• Split each factor into its place-value parts to make easier multiplications.
• Each box of the area model is one partial product.
• Add all the partial products for the total — the answer is the same however you split.

Coming up