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Year 4 - Maths

Use knowledge of the distributive law to calculate products using known times tables

Apply the distributive law to multiplication

Unit Summary

In this unit pupils will use knowledge of the distributive law to calculate products beyond known times tables facts and relate this to partitioning one of the factors.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to use knowledge of the distributive law to calculate products using known times tables.

Key Notes

  • If you know the 2 and 10 times tables you can work out the 12 times table.
  • If you know the 10 times table you can work out the 9 times table.
  • The distributive law allows you to add or subtract known times tables to work out new times table facts.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • Partition: Partitioning is the act of splitting an object or value down into smaller parts.
  • Distributive law: The distributive law says that multiplying a number by a group of numbers added together is the same as doing each multiplication separately.
  • Partial product: A partial product is any of the multiplication results we get leading up to an overall multiplication result.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Pupils may think that there is only one strategy for finding a solution and struggle to see that there is more than one way of partitioning a factor.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Solve this in steps: explain the method from this lesson and why each step matters.

If you know the 2 and 10 times tables you can work out the 12 times table. If you know the 10 times table you can work out the 9 times table.

2. Use this key word in a maths sentence and explain it clearly. 'Partition'

Partitioning is the act of splitting an object or value down into smaller parts. Use this word when showing your method, then check your final answer is reasonable.

3. Spot and fix this common maths mistake.

Mistake: Pupils may think that there is only one strategy for finding a solution and struggle to see that there is more than one way of partitioning a factor. Correction: Spend some time discussing how many combinations of partitioned factor you could use with the distributive law and evaluate each combination for efficiency. This would be a worthwhile guided group task.

More Lessons In This Unit

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