Fin and Snoot are building a rocket. They count and compare the bolts they each have.
NARRATOR: Hello Snoot. Hello Fin.
BOTH: (ALIEN LANGUAGE)
NARRATOR: You're building a rocket, I see.
You've just got to attach the boosters and you'll be done.
SNOOT: (ALIEN LANGUAGE)
NARRATOR: It looks like you'll need 20 bolts to attach one booster.
Let's see what you've got in your tool box.
So Snoot, you've got 4 packs of 5 bolts.
4 times 5 equals 20.
Just the number we need.
FIN: (ALIEN LANGUAGE)
NARRATOR: Ok Fin, let's see what's in your toolbox.
You've got 2 packs of 10 bolts.
2 times 10 also equals 20!
Perfect!
SNOOT: (ALIEN LANGUAGE)
NARRATOR: I know Snoot, Fin's got exactly the same number of bolts as you just in different packs.
4 packs of 5 bolts equals 20.
And 2 packs of 10 bolts equals 20 as well.
So it doesn't matter if we use your packs or Fin's packs, we'll still have all the bolts we need.
We could even use 2 of your packs and 1 of Fin's packs.
2 times 5 is 10 and adding another 10 equals 20 bolts all together.
BOTH: Aha!
NARRATOR: Right then, let's get these boosters bolted on, shall we?
(DRILLING)
(CRASH)
NARRATOR: Ah…
you're going to need more than bolts to fix that.
How can doubling and halving help you multiply?
Everyone finds some numbers easier to work with than others.
If you have to multiply by a number you aren’t too sure about, it can sometimes help to half or double it.
Example
If you have to do 4 X 6 and you’re not sure about the 4 times table, remember that 4 is 2 X 2.
So you can half the 4 to make 2. Then you have to double the 6 to make up for this.
So instead of doing 4 X 6 you can do 2 X 12.
The answer is 24 for both.
How can adding help me multiply? video
Snoot and Fin add and multiply to find out how many pests are in their kitchen.

How can an array help me multiply? video
Fin and Snoot count meebs by putting them into equal rows and using multiplication.

Find more 1st Level resources from BBC Bitesize
First Level is a stage of Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence.

More on Numbers and number processes
Find out more by working through a topic
- count15 of 25

- count16 of 25

- count17 of 25

- count18 of 25
