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← BlogSep 30, 20263 min read

The 4 times table: double it twice

Heron

I'm Heron. I help people do math in their heads, and the 4s taught me that counting is slower than doubling.

For years I got to 4 × 9 by adding fours one at a time, and I always lost my place. Let's learn this one the way that finally worked on me.

The 4 times table from 1 to 12

Here is the whole chart, top to bottom. Twelve facts from the multiplication table for 4, and the next section turns each one into two easy steps.

Now read just the last digit of each answer: 4, 8, 2, 6, 0, and then it starts over. Five endings, and they carry all the way to 48.

Every single answer is even. So an odd number like 21 is not in the 4 times table anywhere.

The table climbs in jumps of four. So 24 and 32 are real facts of the 4s. They just belong to six puppies and to eight puppies.

Why doubling twice works

Four is 2 × 2. That is the whole trick: multiplying by 4 is doubling, and then doubling what you get.

Why twice and not three times? Look at one puppy: four paws is two pairs. One doubling builds a pair, the second builds a pair of pairs, and a pair of pairs is four.

Step 1 of 4the fact we want

4 × 9

The steps were 9, 18, and 36. Two doublings, and the fact I used to count on my fingers turned up on its own.

Double 11 to get 22, double that to get 44, and there is 4 × 11.

Practice the 4 times table

Ten questions, and the friendly ones come first. Type an answer in the box, and if it slips, the box starts the doubling for you.

4 × 2 =

Same rules as above. You've got this.

4 × 10 =

Same rules as above. You've got this.

4 × 5 =

Same rules as above. You've got this.

4 × 3 =

Same rules as above. You've got this.

4 × 4 =

Same rules as above. You've got this.

The next five are where the doubling earns its keep. Say both steps out loud the first few times: the saying is what makes it stick.

4 × 12 can be cut the other way. Here we split the 12 into 10 and 2: four tens make 40, four twos make 8, and 40 plus 8 makes 48.

4 × 12 =

Same rules as above. You've got this.

4 × 6 =

Same rules as above. You've got this.

4 × 9 =

Same rules as above. You've got this.

4 × 7 =

Same rules as above. You've got this.

4 × 8 =

Same rules as above. You've got this.

The 4s, the 2s, and the 8s

The 4s are a rung on a ladder with three tables on it. One double up from the 2s lands on the 4s, and one more double lands on the 8s.

Read any row left to right and you are doubling twice, which is how the 4s hand you the 8s.

England does not count the 4s among its hardest. Year 4 in England's state schools takes a multiplication tables check, 25 questions at six seconds each, and the tables it names as most difficult are the 6, 7, 8, 9, and 12 times tables.

The questions are drawn from the 121 facts in the 2 to 12 tables, and every form asks between one and three of them from the 4s. These are points a child can bank.

Four of them sit close together, one jump apart all the way along.

With only six seconds, it is easy to answer 24 when the question asked for 28. 4 × 12 sits outside that four, and its 48 is the biggest answer on the whole chart.

England's year 4 learns it all the same: in summer 2025 the average score was 21 out of 25, and 37% of eligible pupils got every question right.

Doubling pays off long after this table: it is the habit behind grown-up mental arithmetic, and there is a question a day of it in our mental math practice. The 8 times table and the 7 times table sit next door.

What to remember

Heron
  • Four is two twos. Double the number, double it again, and the table looks after itself.
  • The 4s go up in fours. 4, 8, 12, 16, and on up to 48, so a number that is not on that climb was never in this table.
  • You are one double from the 8s. The same move you just learned carries straight into the next table up.

Which one of the 4s gives you the most trouble?

FAQ

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