40 Multiplication & Division Practice Questions & Answers

1. 1. Which situation can be shown with 6 × 4?

   • A.6 plates and 4 bowls with 1 grape in each
   • B.6 grapes on a plate and then 4 more grapes
   • C.4 grapes on one plate and 6 on another
   • D.6 plates with 4 grapes on each plate✓ Answer

   6 × 4 means 6 equal groups with 4 in each group. Six plates with 4 grapes on each plate is 6 groups of 4, so there are 24 grapes. Six grapes and then 4 more is 6 + 4, which is adding, not making equal groups.

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2. 2. Mateo has 5 bags. Each bag has 7 apples. Which expression shows how many apples Mateo has in all?

   • A.35 ÷ 5
   • B.7 − 5
   • C.5 × 7✓ Answer
   • D.5 + 7

   Equal groups call for multiplication: the number of bags times the number of apples in each bag. 5 × 7 = 35 apples. Writing 5 + 7 only adds the number of bags to one bag's apples, which is the most common mix-up.

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3. 3. Which story matches 3 × 8?

   • A.Ana bakes 8 muffins and gives away 3 of them.
   • B.Ana bakes 8 muffins and 3 cookies for lunch.
   • C.Ana bakes 3 trays with 8 muffins on each tray.✓ Answer
   • D.Ana bakes 3 muffins and then 8 more muffins.

   3 × 8 means 3 equal groups with 8 in each group. Three trays with 8 muffins on each tray is 3 groups of 8, or 24 muffins. Baking 3 muffins and then 8 more is 3 + 8, which adds two amounts instead of making equal groups.

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4. 4. Kenji's class sets up 7 tables with 3 chairs at each table. They write 7 × 3 to find the total number of chairs. What does the 3 stand for?

   • A.the number of chairs at each table✓ Answer
   • B.the number of rows of tables
   • C.the number of chairs in the room
   • D.the number of tables in the room

   In 7 × 3, the first number tells how many equal groups there are and the second tells how many are in each group. There are 7 tables, so the 3 is the number of chairs at each table, and 7 × 3 = 21 chairs. The number of tables is the 7, not the 3.

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5. 5. A garden has 6 rows of carrots. There are 9 carrots in each row. Which equation shows the total number of carrots?

   • A.6 × 6 = 36
   • B.9 − 6 = 3
   • C.6 × 9 = 54✓ Answer
   • D.6 + 9 = 15

   For rows with the same number in each row, multiply the number of rows by the number in each row. 6 rows of 9 is 6 × 9 = 54 carrots. Writing 6 + 9 = 15 only adds the number of rows to one row, which is the most common mistake.

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6. 6. Leila shares 24 stickers equally among 4 friends. She writes 24 ÷ 4 = 6. What does the 6 tell you?

   • A.Each friend gets 6 stickers.✓ Answer
   • B.Leila has 6 friends in all.
   • C.Each friend gets 4 stickers.
   • D.Leila gives away 6 stickers in all.

   When a total is shared equally among a known number of people, dividing tells how many each one gets. 24 stickers shared among 4 friends gives 6 stickers each, because 4 × 6 = 24. The 6 is not the number of friends, since the story already says there are 4 friends.

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7. 7. Omar has 30 crayons. He puts 5 crayons in each box. Which question does 30 ÷ 5 answer?

   • A.How many crayons does Omar have in all?
   • B.How many boxes does Omar fill?✓ Answer
   • C.How many crayons are left over?
   • D.How many crayons go in each box?

   When you know the total and how many go in each group, dividing tells how many groups you can make. 30 crayons with 5 in each box fills 6 boxes, because 6 × 5 = 30. The number in each box is already given as 5, so the division is not asking for it.

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8. 8. Which situation can be solved with 18 ÷ 3?

   • A.18 kids form teams of 3 kids each.✓ Answer
   • B.18 kids play and then 3 more kids join.
   • C.18 kids play and then 3 kids go home.
   • D.3 teams have 18 kids on each team.

   Division fits when a total is split into equal groups. 18 kids in teams of 3 makes 18 ÷ 3 = 6 teams, because 6 × 3 = 18. Three teams with 18 kids on each team would need multiplying, not dividing, and the other two stories are adding and subtracting.

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9. 9. Ben puts 28 marbles into 7 bags. Each bag has the same number of marbles. Which equation can Ben use to find the number of marbles in each bag?

   • A.28 + 7 = ?
   • B.? ÷ 7 = 28
   • C.7 × ? = 28✓ Answer
   • D.28 × 7 = ?

   Sharing a total into equal groups is the same as asking: 7 bags times what number makes 28? Since 7 × 4 = 28, each bag has 4 marbles. Writing 28 × 7 multiplies the total by the number of bags instead of finding the size of each group.

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10. 10. Mia has 35 beads. She uses 5 beads to make each bracelet. What does the answer to 35 ÷ 5 tell you?

    • A.the number of bracelets that Mia can make✓ Answer
    • B.the number of beads that Mia has in all
    • C.the number of beads Mia has left over
    • D.the number of beads on each bracelet

    When you know the total and the size of each group, dividing finds how many groups you can make. 35 ÷ 5 = 7, so Mia can make 7 bracelets, because 7 × 5 = 35. The number of beads on each bracelet is already given as 5, so that is not what the division finds.

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11. 11. Priya's cooler holds 4 jugs of juice. Each jug holds 8 liters. How many liters of juice are in the cooler?

    • A.4 liters
    • B.8 liters
    • C.32 liters✓ Answer
    • D.2 liters

    Each jug holds the same amount, so multiply the number of jugs by the liters in one jug. 4 × 8 = 32 liters. Answering 8 liters counts only one jug instead of all 4 jugs.

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12. 12. Chen has 27 kilograms of soil. He puts 3 kilograms of soil in each flower pot. How many pots can he fill?

    • A.30 pots
    • B.24 pots
    • C.81 pots
    • D.9 pots✓ Answer

    You know the total and the amount for each pot, so divide to find how many pots. 27 ÷ 3 = 9, because 9 × 3 = 27. Getting 81 means multiplying 27 × 3 instead of dividing.

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13. 13. Mr. Okafor buys 9 bags of flour for his bakery. Each bag has a mass of 5 kilograms. What is the total mass of the flour?

    • A.9 kilograms
    • B.45 kilograms✓ Answer
    • C.5 kilograms
    • D.4 kilograms

    Every bag has the same mass, so multiply the number of bags by the mass of one bag. 9 × 5 = 45 kilograms. Answering 4 kilograms comes from subtracting 9 − 5 instead of multiplying.

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14. 14. The music room has 48 chairs set up in 6 equal rows. How many chairs are in each row?

    • A.7 chairs
    • B.54 chairs
    • C.42 chairs
    • D.8 chairs✓ Answer

    You know the total and the number of rows, so divide the total by the number of rows. 48 ÷ 6 = 8, because 6 × 8 = 48. Answering 7 chairs comes from mixing up the fact 6 × 7 = 42 with 6 × 8 = 48.

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15. 15. Each toy car has a mass of 8 grams. Diego puts 7 toy cars on a scale. What mass does the scale show?

    • A.56 grams✓ Answer
    • B.15 grams
    • C.63 grams
    • D.48 grams

    Every car has the same mass, so multiply the number of cars by the mass of one car. 7 × 8 = 56 grams. Answering 15 grams comes from adding 7 + 8 instead of multiplying.

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16. 16. Fatima has 36 liters of soup. She pours 4 liters into each pot. How many pots does she fill?

    • A.9 pots✓ Answer
    • B.8 pots
    • C.32 pots
    • D.40 pots

    Divide the total by the liters in each pot to find how many pots. 36 ÷ 4 = 9, because 9 × 4 = 36. Answering 32 pots comes from subtracting 36 − 4 once instead of finding how many groups of 4 fit in 36.

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17. 17. What number makes ? ÷ 3 = 6 true?

    • A.2
    • B.9
    • C.18✓ Answer
    • D.3

    Think of the division as a missing-number multiplication: a number divided by 3 is 6 means 3 × 6 equals that number. 3 × 6 = 18, and 18 ÷ 3 = 6. Answering 2 comes from dividing the numbers shown, 6 ÷ 3, instead of finding the missing number.

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18. 18. What number makes 3 = ? ÷ 9 true?

    • A.12
    • B.6
    • C.27✓ Answer
    • D.3

    The equals sign means both sides have the same value, so you can read this as ? ÷ 9 = 3. That means 9 × 3 is the missing number, so it is 27, and 27 ÷ 9 = 3. Answering 12 comes from adding 9 + 3 instead of multiplying.

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19. 19. What number makes 8 × ? = 48 true?

    • A.7
    • B.56
    • C.6✓ Answer
    • D.40

    Ask: 8 times what number equals 48? Count by 8s: 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48 is 6 eights, so 8 × 6 = 48. Answering 40 comes from subtracting 48 − 8 instead of finding the missing factor.

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20. 20. Which expression has the same value as 8 × 7?

    • A.(8 × 5) × (8 × 2)
    • B.(8 × 5) + (8 × 2)✓ Answer
    • C.(8 + 5) × (8 + 2)
    • D.(8 × 5) + 2

    Break the 7 into 5 + 2 and multiply 8 by each part, then add: 8 × 5 = 40 and 8 × 2 = 16, so 40 + 16 = 56, which is 8 × 7. The most tempting wrong choice, (8 × 5) + 2, forgets to multiply the 2 by 8, so it only makes 42.

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21. 21. Mei knows that 6 × 4 = 24. Which statement about 4 × 6 is true?

    • A.4 × 6 = 46, the digits side by side
    • B.4 × 6 = 20, one group of 4 less
    • C.4 × 6 = 24, the same product as 6 × 4✓ Answer
    • D.4 × 6 = 10, the sum of 4 and 6

    You can switch the order of the two numbers you multiply and the product stays the same. 4 rows of 6 and 6 rows of 4 both have 24 in all, so 4 × 6 = 24. Writing 20 is a 'neighbor fact' slip, since 20 is really 4 × 5.

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22. 22. Ravi wants to find 3 × 5 × 2. Which way of working it out is correct?

    • A.Do 5 × 2 first, then 3 × 10 = 30✓ Answer
    • B.Do 3 × 5 first, then 15 + 2 = 17
    • C.Do 5 + 2 first, then 3 × 7 = 21
    • D.Do 3 + 5 first, then 8 × 2 = 16

    When every sign is multiplication, you may group any two factors first and the product does not change. Doing 5 × 2 = 10 first makes it easy: 3 × 10 = 30. Getting 17 means the last step was added instead of multiplied.

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23. 23. Which pair of expressions always has the same value?

    • A.12 ÷ 3 and 3 ÷ 12
    • B.6 × 3 and 6 + 3
    • C.8 ÷ 2 and 2 ÷ 8
    • D.9 × 4 and 4 × 9✓ Answer

    Switching the order works for multiplication: 9 × 4 and 4 × 9 are both 36. It does not work for division: 12 ÷ 3 = 4, but sharing 3 things among 12 people does not give each person 4. Multiplying and adding the same numbers also give different answers, 18 and 9.

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24. 24. Sofia finds 8 × 6 by splitting the 8 into 5 and 3. She does 5 × 6 and 3 × 6. Which work shows the right answer?

    • A.30 + 24 = 54
    • B.30 + 12 = 42
    • C.30 + 3 = 33
    • D.30 + 18 = 48✓ Answer

    Multiply 6 by each part of the 8, then add the two products. 5 × 6 = 30 and 3 × 6 = 18, so 30 + 18 = 48. Writing 30 + 3 forgets to multiply the 3 by 6.

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25. 25. To find 32 ÷ 8, Kai asks, "8 times what number equals 32?" What number answers his question?

    • A.8
    • B.5
    • C.3
    • D.4✓ Answer

    A division problem is a missing-factor problem: 32 ÷ 8 asks what number times 8 makes 32. Since 8 × 4 = 32, the answer is 4. Picking 3 or 5 comes from a neighbor fact, because 8 × 3 = 24 and 8 × 5 = 40.

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26. 26. Which fact helps you solve 54 ÷ 6?

    • A.6 × 8 = 48
    • B.6 × 9 = 54✓ Answer
    • C.6 + 6 = 12
    • D.54 - 6 = 48

    To divide 54 by 6, look for the multiplication fact with 6 as a factor and 54 as the product. 6 × 9 = 54, so 54 ÷ 6 = 9. The fact 6 × 8 = 48 is true, but its product is 48, not 54.

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27. 27. Ana wants to solve 63 ÷ 7 = ? by thinking of a multiplication problem. Which equation should she use?

    • A.7 x ? = 63✓ Answer
    • B.7 + ? = 63
    • C.? ÷ 7 = 63
    • D.63 × 7 = ?

    Dividing 63 by 7 means finding the missing factor that times 7 makes 63, so the matching equation is 7 x ? = 63. The answer is 9, because 7 × 9 = 63. Writing 63 × 7 = ? turns the division into a much bigger multiplication.

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28. 28. Diego knows that 4 × 9 = 36. Which division fact can he get from it?

    • A.9 ÷ 4 = 36
    • B.36 ÷ 9 = 3
    • C.36 ÷ 4 = 32
    • D.36 ÷ 4 = 9✓ Answer

    In 4 × 9 = 36, the product 36 divided by one factor gives the other factor. So 36 ÷ 4 = 9 (and 36 ÷ 9 = 4). The choice 36 ÷ 4 = 32 comes from subtracting 4 instead of dividing.

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29. 29. Which question means the same thing as 72 ÷ 9 = ?

    • A.72 minus 9 makes what number?
    • B.9 times what number makes 72?✓ Answer
    • C.What number plus 9 makes 72?
    • D.72 times 9 makes what number?

    Division asks for a missing factor: 72 ÷ 9 asks what number you multiply by 9 to get 72. Since 9 × 8 = 72, the answer is 8. Asking what 72 minus 9 is gives 63, which mixes up dividing with taking away one group.

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30. 30. What is 7 × 8?

    • A.63
    • B.56✓ Answer
    • C.54
    • D.48

    Use a fact you know: 7 × 7 = 49, and one more 7 makes 49 + 7 = 56. So 7 × 8 = 56. The choice 54 is a mix-up with 6 × 9 = 54, one of the most often confused facts.

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31. 31. What is 6 × 7?

    • A.42✓ Answer
    • B.48
    • C.36
    • D.13

    Start from 5 × 7 = 35 and add one more group of 7: 35 + 7 = 42. So 6 × 7 = 42. The answer 13 comes from adding 6 + 7 instead of multiplying.

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32. 32. What is 56 ÷ 7?

    • A.6
    • B.8✓ Answer
    • C.9
    • D.7

    Think of the missing factor: 7 times what number makes 56? Since 7 × 8 = 56, 56 ÷ 7 = 8. Choosing 6 or 9 comes from mixing up the 7s facts, because 7 × 6 = 42 and 7 × 9 = 63.

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33. 33. Which fact is in the same fact family as 9 × 6 = 54?

    • A.9 + 6 = 15
    • B.54 ÷ 6 = 9✓ Answer
    • C.54 ÷ 9 = 7
    • D.54 - 6 = 48

    A fact family uses the same three numbers, here 6, 9 and 54, in two multiplication and two division facts. 54 ÷ 6 = 9 uses exactly those numbers and is true. The choice 54 ÷ 9 = 7 is false, because 9 × 7 = 63.

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34. 34. What number makes this true? 8 x ? = 64

    • A.8✓ Answer
    • B.6
    • C.9
    • D.7

    Ask which number times 8 makes 64. Since 8 × 8 = 64, the missing number is 8. The choice 6 comes from copying the tens digit of 64, and 7 is a neighbor fact, because 8 × 7 = 56.

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35. 35. What is 9 × 7?

    • A.56
    • B.16
    • C.72
    • D.63✓ Answer

    Use 10 × 7 = 70 and take away one group of 7: 70 - 7 = 63. So 9 × 7 = 63. The answer 16 comes from adding 9 + 7 instead of multiplying.

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36. 36. Which statement is always true when you multiply 4 by any whole number?

    • A.The product ends in 4 or 8, just like 4 × 1 and 4 × 2.
    • B.The product is always even, since it is a double of a double.✓ Answer
    • C.The product is even only when the other number is even.
    • D.The product is odd when the other number is odd, like 4 × 3.

    Multiplying by 4 is the same as doubling and then doubling again, and any double is even. That is why 4 × 3 = 12 and 4 × 5 = 20 are even even though 3 and 5 are odd. The idea that the product ends in 4 or 8 breaks at 4 × 3 = 12.

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37. 37. Look at the 5s facts from 5 × 1 to 5 × 10. Which statement about the ones digit of each product is true?

    • A.It is always 0, like 10, 20 and 30.
    • B.It is 5 for even factors, like 5 × 2.
    • C.It is always 5, like 5, 15 and 25.
    • D.It is always 0 or 5, like 15, 20 and 35.✓ Answer

    Counting by 5s goes 5, 10, 15, 20 and so on, so the ones digit switches between 5 and 0. It is 5 when the other factor is odd and 0 when it is even, as in 5 × 2 = 10. Saying it is always 5 only looks at the odd factors.

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38. 38. Ella adds two odd numbers, such as 7 + 5. What is always true about the sum?

    • A.It is odd when one addend is bigger than 5.
    • B.It is odd, because both addends are odd.
    • C.It is even, like 7 + 5 = 12 and 3 + 3 = 6.✓ Answer
    • D.It is even only when both odd numbers match.

    Every odd number is a set of pairs with one left over. When you add two odd numbers, the two leftovers make a new pair, so nothing is left over and the sum is even. For example, 7 + 5 = 12 and 9 + 3 = 12.

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39. 39. Marco multiplies 2 by an odd number, such as 2 × 7. What is always true about the product?

    • A.It is odd when the odd factor is more than 5.
    • B.It is odd, because one factor is an odd number.
    • C.It is even only when the odd factor is small.
    • D.It is even, because every double is even, like 14.✓ Answer

    Multiplying by 2 means doubling, and a double can always be split into two equal groups, so it is even. 2 × 7 = 14 and 2 × 9 = 18 are both even. Believing the odd factor makes the product odd is a common mistake.

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40. 40. Look at the 9s facts from 9 × 1 = 9 to 9 × 10 = 90. Which pattern is true for every product?

    • A.Its tens digit goes down by 1 each time.
    • B.Its digits add up to 9, as in 27 and 54.✓ Answer
    • C.Its ones digit goes up by 1 each time.
    • D.It is an odd number, as in 9 and 27.

    Each time you add 9, the tens digit goes up by 1 and the ones digit goes down by 1, so the digits keep adding to 9: 2 + 7 = 9, 5 + 4 = 9, 9 + 0 = 9. That also shows the ones digit goes down, not up. Not every product is odd, since 9 × 2 = 18.

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