The 2s, 5s, and 10s: Your First Times Tables!

Look at these numbers: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10. Now look at these: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25. And these: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50. Do you spot a pattern in each row? Each row is a counting sequence — you are adding the same number each time. That is exactly what times tables are: counting in equal steps!

The × symbol means 'groups of'. So 3 × 2 means '3 groups of 2', which equals 6. **The 2 times table** is like counting pairs. Think of socks — 2 socks in every pair. 1 pair = 2, 2 pairs = 4, 3 pairs = 6 … all the way to 12 pairs = 24. Every answer is an even number (it ends in 0, 2, 4, 6, or 8). **The 5 times table** is like counting fingers on one hand. 1 hand = 5, 2 hands = 10, 3 hands = 15 … up to 12 × 5 = 60. Every answer ends in 0 or 5. Easy to spot! **The 10 times table** is the simplest of all. You just write the number you are multiplying and add a zero at the end. 1 × 10 = 10, 2 × 10 = 20, 3 × 10 = 30 … 12 × 10 = 120. Every answer ends in 0.