If you've only done addition and subtraction, multiplication may seem hard at first, but it is way easier than it seems. Multiplication is pretty much just repeated addition written in a shorter way. Multiplication gets used in various topics and makes addition of several numbers faster.
ISAIAH LOPEZ
Multiplication is just repeated addition, so if you understand addition, this will be easy for you. If you don't understand what "repeated addition" means, you are about to. If you want to add 5 three times, you would add 5 + 5 + 5 = 15. There is a shorter way to write this though. You can write 5 × 3 (5 times 3), which would mean you need to add five to itself three times, or add three fives together.
Now that you understand what multiplication really means, let's do a few examples. If we are trying to solve 7 × 4, we can just add seven to itself four times. This would be 7 + 7 + 7 + 7, which is 28, so 7 × 4 = 28. Let's do another. If we are trying to find the answer to 3 × 6, we can add three to itself six times. 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 18, so 3 × 6 = 18. Another thing to think about is that multiplication can work both ways. In our example for 3 × 6, you don't have to add three six times. You can add six three times if it is easier for you. In other words, 6 + 6 + 6 is the same as 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3, meaning 6 × 3 is the same is 3 × 6.