I'm Heron. I help people do math in their heads, and the 6s were the row I used to skip.
Six turned out to be five with one more on top. Let's go and see.
The 6 times table from 1 to 12
Here is the whole chart: twelve facts from the multiplication table for 6.
6 ×1=6
6 ×2=12
6 ×3=18
6 ×4=24
6 ×5=30
6 ×6=36
6 ×7=42
6 ×8=48
6 ×9=54
6 ×10=60
6 ×11=66
6 ×12=72
The table climbs in jumps of six, from 6 up to 72.
Every answer is even, because six is even. An odd answer is wrong.
Now let's read the even rows. 6 × 2 is 12, 6 × 4 is 24, 6 × 8 is 48: each ends in the number we multiplied by.
The odd rows end five further along. 6 × 7 ends in 2, because 7 and 5 make 12, and 12 ends in 2.
Why five of them plus one more works
Six is 5 plus 1. That is the whole trick: for 6 × 8 we take five 8s, then add one more 8.
Step 1 of 5the fact we want
6 × 8
Five of a number comes from the 5 times table. Five 7s make 35, five 9s make 45, five 11s make 55.
When the number is even, halving is faster. Half of 8 is 4, add a zero, and five 8s make 40.
Four answers you write instead of adding
Halving an even number leaves a whole number, so five of it lands on a clean count of tens: five 8s are exactly 40, nothing in the ones place.
So the half becomes the first digit and the number the second. The 40 ends in a zero, so the 8 drops into it: 48.
6 ×2→1then2→12
6 ×4→2then4→24
6 ×6→3then6→36
6 ×8→4then8→48
Now we read 6 × 4 straight off the number: half of 4 is 2, then the 4, and 24 is there before you add anything.
The shortcut stops where single digits stop. Half of 12 is 6, and writing 6 then 12 gives 612.
So the last two go back to five-plus-one. Five 10s and one more make 60, five 12s and one more make 72.
One honest warning: the last-digit pattern only catches wrong answers. It never promises a right one, and 38 ends in 8 but is not in the table at all.
Practice the 6 times table
Ten questions, friendly ones first. Get one wrong and the box hands you the five.
6 × 2 =
Same rules as above. You've got this.
6 × 5 =
Same rules as above. You've got this.
6 × 11 =
Same rules as above. You've got this.
6 × 3 =
Same rules as above. You've got this.
The next six take the most practice. Say both pieces out loud.
6 × 4 =
Same rules as above. You've got this.
6 × 6 =
Same rules as above. You've got this.
6 × 12 =
Same rules as above. You've got this.
6 × 8 =
Same rules as above. You've got this.
6 × 9 =
Same rules as above. You've got this.
6 × 7 =
Same rules as above. You've got this.
Where England's check changes gear
England gives year 4 a multiplication tables check, 25 questions at six seconds each, from the 121 facts in the 2 to 12 tables.
The 6 times table is where that check changes gear.Its table of limits lets a form skip the 2s and the 10s completely, and asks one to three questions from the 5s.
At the 6s, the floor rises. Every form carries two to four questions from the 6s, the same share as the 7s, 8s, 9s, and 12s.
Those five are the tables the framework calls hardest, and the 6s come first.
Five of them, then one more. Five 7s make 35, add one more 7, and 6 × 7 is 42.
Every answer is even. The even rows end in the number itself, and the odd rows end five further on.
Four answers write themselves. 12, 24, 36, and 48 are half the number followed by the number.
Which one of the 6s gives you the most trouble?
6 × 7
0%
6 × 8
0%
6 × 9
0%
6 × 12
0%
FAQ
6 × 1 = 6, 6 × 2 = 12, 6 × 3 = 18, 6 × 4 = 24, 6 × 5 = 30, 6 × 6 = 36, 6 × 7 = 42, 6 × 8 = 48, 6 × 9 = 54, 6 × 10 = 60, 6 × 11 = 66, and 6 × 12 = 72. The table climbs in jumps of six, and every answer on it is even.
Take five of the number, then add one more of it. For 6 × 8: five 8s make 40, one more 8 goes on top, and 48 is the answer. Five of a number comes from the 5 times table, and when the number is even you can halve it and add a zero instead.
42. Five 7s make 35, and one more 7 brings it to 42. It is the same fact as 7 × 6, so a child who knows the 7 times table already owns this answer and only has to recognize it turned around.
Because five of an even number is a whole count of tens, so it never touches the ones place. Five 8s make exactly 40, and the one more 8 lands in the ones place on its own: 48. The same reason puts half the number in the tens place, which is why 6 × 4 reads 24 and 6 × 6 reads 36. That half-and-copy shortcut only works while the number is a single digit. Half of 12 is 6, but 6 × 12 is 72, so the last two facts go back to five-plus-one.
England treats it as the first of the hard ones. Its year 4 multiplication tables check names the 6, 7, 8, 9, and 12 times tables as the most difficult, and the 6 times table is the first one a check form can never skip: every form carries two to four questions from it, while the 2s and the 10s can be left out completely. The friendly part is that four of the twelve answers come out of the trick already written: 12, 24, 36, and 48 are half the number followed by the number.
