Multiplication Basics
Multiplication as Repeated Addition
See why 5 × 3 equals 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3. Counting five groups of 3 shows that multiplication is just a faster way to add the same number over and over.
Example
repeat-5x3.math
5 x 3
step: group 1: add 3, total 3
step: group 2: add 3, total 6
step: group 3: add 3, total 9
step: group 4: add 3, total 12
step: group 5: add 3, total 15
step: 5 x 3 = 15
repeated-addition
Multiplying a × b means adding b to itself a times. Each group adds one more copy of b, and the total grows by b each step.