The 3 times table
The first table without an obvious pattern in its last digits, but with a secret one in its digit sums.
Play the 3 times table
Every question uses the 3s. Pick a game, answer ten, and watch the 3s grow in your garden.
Catch Thena Out
Thena has written out a times table and slipped in some mistakes. Find them, cross them out and put her right.
0 of 12 in flower. Each right-first-time answer grows a plant a little.
The 3 times table chart
Say it out loud, then cover an answer and see if it comes back. Tap any answer to hide it, and tap again to check.
| 3 × 1 | = | one three is 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 × 2 | = | two threes are 6 | |
| 3 × 3 | = | three threes are 9 | |
| 3 × 4 | = | four threes are 12 | |
| 3 × 5 | = | five threes are 15 | |
| 3 × 6 | = | six threes are 18 | |
| 3 × 7 | = | seven threes are 21 | |
| 3 × 8 | = | eight threes are 24 | |
| 3 × 9 | = | nine threes are 27 | |
| 3 × 10 | = | ten threes are 30 | |
| 3 × 11 | = | eleven threes are 33 | |
| 3 × 12 | = | twelve threes are 36 |
How to learn the 3 times table
- 1
Add up the digits
Every answer in the 3s has digits that add to 3, 6 or 9: 12 (1 + 2 = 3), 27 (2 + 7 = 9), 36 (3 + 6 = 9). A quick way to check an answer.
- 2
Twos and one more
3 × 7 is two 7s and one more 7: 14 + 7 = 21. Children who know their 2s can always get there.
- 3
The 3s grid
Write 1 to 9 in a 3 by 3 grid, starting bottom left and going up each column. Put a 0 before each number in the top row, a 1 in the middle row and a 2 in the bottom row. Read across from the top: 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27.
The pattern in the 3s
The last digit of each answer, from 3 × 1 to 3 × 12. Every digit comes once before any repeats. Look at the digit sums instead: 3, 6, 9, over and over.
- 3
- 6
- 9
- 2
- 5
- 8
- 1
- 4
- 7
- 0
- 3
- 6
When children learn it
In Year 3. England’s National Curriculum gives Year 3 the 3, 4 and 8 times tables, with their division facts.
Practise for the multiplication tables check
Every times table
Questions parents ask
How can my child learn the 3 times table?
Five minutes a day beats an hour on Sunday. Start with the facts they already know from other tables (turn 3 × 5 round and it’s 5 × 3), then learn one trick: the digits of every answer add up to 3, 6 or 9. Then play: answering from memory, again and again, is what makes facts stick, and a game makes them want to.
When do children learn the 3 times table?
In Year 3. England’s National Curriculum gives Year 3 the 3, 4 and 8 times tables, with their division facts.
What is the hardest fact in the 3 times table?
Usually 3 × 7 = 21 and 3 × 8 = 24, because there’s no doubling shortcut. Two 7s and one more 7 always gets there.
Is the 3 times table game free?
Yes. Every game here is free, with no account, no adverts and no timer. Progress is kept on this device only. Thena, the AI teacher who made them, has lessons for children that start with 3 free.
Stuck on the 3s?
Thena explains them on her board, out loud, the way your child’s school does, and answers every “why?”.
Try 3 lessons free