Use Repeated Addition to Multiply by 3

In this activity, we will learn about multiplying by 3.

To multiply by three, we can use repeated addition.

Here are 3 cats in a group. 

Let's think about what happens if we have four groups of 3 cats and we want to find the total!

We could count the cats one by one, but this would take a while. 

Instead, let's use repeated addition to show the total. 

4 groups of 3 looks like this as repeated addition:

3 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 12

There are 12 cats in total!

Now let's try an example of multiplying by 3, using repeated addition. 

Example

There are 9 pots.

Each pot has 3 flowers.

We want to work out how many flowers there are in total.

What is 9 times 3?

Answer

In total, there are 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3  = 27 flowers.

What is 3 times 9?

3 × 9 = 27

9 × 3 = 27

Now that you understand repeated addition, let's try some questions.