The 3 times table
All 12 facts in the 3 times table, a way to build each one from doubling, and a practice round just for the 3s.
Practise the 3 times table
Start in order, then try them mixed up and both ways round.
Tap or type each answer. It's marked as soon as it's right.
What is the 3 times table?
- 1 × 3 = 3
- 2 × 3 = 6
- 3 × 3 = 9
- 4 × 3 = 12
- 5 × 3 = 15
- 6 × 3 = 18
- 7 × 3 = 21
- 8 × 3 = 24
- 9 × 3 = 27
- 10 × 3 = 30
- 11 × 3 = 33
- 12 × 3 = 36
Say each fact out loud as well as reading it: "three sevens are twenty-one". Saying the three numbers together is how the facts stick.
When do children learn the 3 times table?
In Year 3. The national curriculum puts the 3, 4 and 8 times tables in Year 3, and children need every table up to 12 × 12 by the end of Year 4, when they take the multiplication tables check.
How to work out a 3s fact
Three lots of a number is two lots and one more lot. So double the number, then add it once more:
- 3 × 7: double 7 is 14, and 14 + 7 = 21.
- 3 × 8: double 8 is 16, and 16 + 8 = 24.
You can also step on from a fact you know. Each step along the 3 times table adds 3:
The 3s belong with the 6s and 9s. The 6 times table is double the 3s, so learning the 3s well makes the 6s much easier.
The 3s facts children find trickiest
3 × 7 = 21, 3 × 8 = 24, 3 × 9 = 27 and 3 × 12 = 36.
Practise these in a mixed-up order, and both ways round: 3 × 8 and 8 × 3 are the same fact.
Patterns in the 3 times table
- Add the digits of each answer and you always get 3, 6 or 9, in that order: 12 gives 1 + 2 = 3, 15 gives 6, 18 gives 9, 21 gives 3 again.
- The answers go odd, even, odd, even: 3, 6, 9, 12 and so on.
- The ones digits of 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27 and 30 are 3, 6, 9, 2, 5, 8, 1, 4, 7 and 0. Every digit appears once.
Division facts for the 3 times table
Every multiplication fact gives two division facts. If 3 × 3 = 9, then 9 ÷ 3 = 3 and 9 ÷ 3 = 3. Children learn the division facts alongside the multiplication facts, not afterwards.
- 3 ÷ 3 = 1
- 6 ÷ 3 = 2
- 9 ÷ 3 = 3
- 12 ÷ 3 = 4
- 15 ÷ 3 = 5
- 18 ÷ 3 = 6
- 21 ÷ 3 = 7
- 24 ÷ 3 = 8
- 27 ÷ 3 = 9
- 30 ÷ 3 = 10
- 33 ÷ 3 = 11
- 36 ÷ 3 = 12
Mathsley does this for you, every day
Mathsley brings back each times table fact just before your child would forget it, spots the ones they mix up, and from Year 3 uses a timer that adapts to your child instead of rushing them. Short sessions with a clear finish, no speed ranks and no leaderboards.
Sources
We check every method and fact on this page against these official documents.
- National curriculum in England: mathematics programmes of study (Department for Education). Used for: Year 3: recall and use multiplication and division facts for the 3, 4 and 8 multiplication tables.
- Mathematics guidance: key stages 1 and 2 (Department for Education). Used for: 3NF-2 and 4NF-1: the 2, 4 and 8 tables learned together, then the 3, 6 and 9; the turnaround; next door multiples.