← BlogSep 27, 20263 min read

The 8 times table: double, double, double

I'm Heron. I help people do math in their heads, and the 8s were the last of the times tables I learned.

For most of a year I answered 8 × 7 with 54, out loud, in front of people. Let's learn this table the way that finally worked on me.

The 8 times table from 1 to 12

Here is the whole chart, top to bottom. Twelve facts, and by the end of this page they come down to one trick you already know.

• 8 ×1=8
• 8 ×2=16
• 8 ×3=24
• 8 ×4=32
• 8 ×5=40
• 8 ×6=48
• 8 ×7=56
• 8 ×8=64
• 8 ×9=72
• 8 ×10=80
• 8 ×11=88
• 8 ×12=96

Now read just the last digit of each answer: 8, 6, 4, 2, 0, and then it starts over. Five answers, and the pattern repeats all the way to 96.

That happens because 8 is one ten take away two. Each step down the table adds a ten and gives two back, so the last digit drops by two every time.

The table climbs in jumps of eight, and that is the check worth keeping. It goes straight from 48 to 56, so a near miss like 54 was never on this list at all.

Why doubling three times works

Eight is 2 × 2 × 2. So multiplying by 8 is doubling, then doubling, then doubling again.

That trade is the point: we swap one fact we cannot remember for three small steps we can already do. Let's walk one of the harder facts through it.

The steps were 6, 12, 24, and 48. Three doublings, and the fact nobody could remember turned up on its own.

Doubling stays easy as the numbers grow. To double 12, double the 10 to get 20, double the 2 to get 4, and put them back together for 24.

Practice the 8 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.

Five down, and the next five are where the doubling earns its keep. Say each step out loud the first few times, because the saying is what makes it stick.

There is a second route for the biggest one. Twelve tens make 120, twelve twos make 24, and 120 take away 24 leaves 96.

Why the 8s trip people up

England puts the 8s on a list. Every Year 4 class there takes a multiplication tables check, 25 questions at six seconds each, and the 8 times table is on its official list of the most difficult tables, next to the 6, 7, 9, and 12 times tables.

The questions are drawn from the 121 facts in the 2 to 12 tables, and between two and four of them come from the 8s. So this one table can be worth four of the 25 points.

They sit too close together. Here are the four that get swapped, one jump apart all the way along.

• 8 ×6=48
• 8 ×7=56
• 8 ×8=64
• 8 ×9=72

Under six seconds 48 and 56 trade places, and 8 × 8 gives up its 64 to the 72 next door. 8 × 12 holds the biggest answer here, and 96 can feel too large to be right when it is.

Kids do learn it all the same: in summer 2025 the average score was 21 out of 25, and 37% got every question right.

Doubling keeps paying off long after this table: it is the same habit behind grown-up mental arithmetic, and there is a question a day of it in our mental math practice.

What to remember

• Eight is two, three times over. Double, double, double, and the table looks after itself.
• Watch the jumps. The 8s go up by eight every time, so a near miss like 54 was never on the list.
• Keep the sessions short. Five minutes a day beats an hour on Sunday, and the check itself takes each pupil under five minutes.

FAQ