Concept 3 of 7
Times Tables: 2, 5 and 10
Today's big idea
A times table is skip counting: each jump adds the same number.
Three jumps of 5 land on 15, so 5 × 3 = 15.
How it works
👀 What's going on?
Count 2, 4, 6, 8 and you are already reciting the two times table without knowing it. Skip counting and times tables are the very same thing.
💡 Here's the trick
Look at the jumps above. Each jump adds the same number. Skip-count in 2s, 5s or 10s and every place you land is an answer in that times table. So 5 × 3 is just 5, 10, 15 — three jumps of 5.
🪄 How to do it
- 1.Decide which table you need (2s, 5s or 10s).
- 2.Skip-count that many times, adding the number each jump.
- 3.The number you land on is the answer.
✍️ Try it
- 1.What is 2 × 4?
- 2.What is 5 × 3?
2, 4, 6, 8 — four jumps of 2 land on 8. And 5, 10, 15 — three jumps of 5 land on 15.
⚠️ Watch out
Count the jumps, not the numbers you say. For 5 × 3 you make 3 jumps (5, 10, 15) and stop — one extra jump would give the wrong answer.
🌟 Why this matters
The 2s, 5s and 10s are the tables you use for counting money, telling time and sharing. Knowing them by heart makes maths much faster.
Exam tip: The 10s always end in 0; the 5s end in 0 or 5.
Watch me solve one
Quanta solves it
“Watch how I think through one of these — then you try.”
THE PROBLEM
“What is 5 × 4?”
- 1
Skip-count in 5s
5, 10, 15, 20 — four jumps.
- 2
Count the jumps
Four jumps of 5 means 5 × 4.
- 3
Answer ✓
20
Now you try one — same steps, different story 👇
See it in action
⚡ Time to play!
Skip-count in 2s. Each jump adds 2.
TIMES TABLE · ROUND 1 OF 3
2 × 4 = ?
What is 2 × 4?
Quick check
✅ VERIFICATION
What is 5 × 4?
⚡ Finish the activity above first to answer.
Keep going!
Up next: Sharing Equally
6 shared by 2 = 6 ÷ 2 = 3.