12 Times Table
The 12 times table is the last one children usually learn, and the answers are the biggest. Splitting each fact into ten lots plus two lots keeps every step small.
Counting up in 12s: 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96, 108, 120
Visual Explorer
Click any line in the table on the left to see it visualised below!
Choose objects:
12 × 1 = 12
1 group of 12 = 12 stars!
Test Yourself
Fill in every answer, then press Check Answers to see how you did.
The clever bit
Split 12 into 10 + 2
The answers here get big, so the trick is to never work with a big number at all. Split the 12 into 10 + 2:
- 12 × 6 → 60 + 12 = 72
- 12 × 7 → 70 + 14 = 84
- 12 × 9 → 90 + 18 = 108
Ten lots is instant, two lots is doubling, and adding them is the only real work. No step in that chain is harder than something learned years earlier.
Or double the 6 times table
Twelve is double six, so if the 6 table is comfortable there is a one-step route:
- 6 × 7 = 42 → 12 × 7 = 84
- 6 × 8 = 48 → 12 × 8 = 96
Use whichever feels quicker on the day. Both are correct, and having two routes means a child is never stuck.
The one to just know
12 × 12 = 144. It is the corner of every multiplication grid, it shows up constantly in tests, and there is no shortcut that makes it especially easy. Learn it as a fact and be done with it.
Why 12 at all?
Twelve divides cleanly by 2, 3, 4 and 6, which is why it stuck around in clocks, months, and old money. That divisibility is also why a dozen is such a convenient way to pack eggs.
Step one
Practise the 12 times table
Pick the answer you think is right. Nothing is timed and nothing is scored — this part is just for getting comfortable.
Practice needs JavaScript switched on. You can still read the whole table above — it works everywhere.
Step two
Take the 12 times table quiz
Ten questions, typed in. Get any wrong and you can practise just those straight afterwards.
The quiz needs JavaScript switched on. You can still read the whole table above — it works everywhere.
The ones people trip on
Most mistakes in the 12 times table land on these. Each one has a way in.
12 × 7 = 84
70 + 14 = 84. Both halves come from tables you already know well.
12 × 8 = 96
80 + 16 = 96. The largest answer under 100 in the whole table.
12 × 9 = 108
90 + 18 = 108, and this is where the answers cross into three digits.
Where the 12 times table shows up
Months in a year, hours on a clock face, eggs in a dozen. Five dozen eggs is 5 × 12 = 60 eggs.
Questions parents ask
What is the easiest way to learn the 12 times table?
Split 12 into 10 + 2. For 12 × 7, work out ten sevens (70) and two sevens (14), then add them to get 84. Both parts come from tables children already know, so nothing new has to be memorised.
Why do schools teach up to 12 rather than stopping at 10?
Partly tradition from pre-decimal money and imperial measures, and partly because 12 divides so neatly — by 2, 3, 4 and 6. It also appears constantly in time, with 12 months and 12 hours.
Which 12 times table facts are hardest?
12 × 7 = 84 and 12 × 8 = 96 give the most trouble, because the answers are large and look similar. 12 × 12 = 144 is worth learning outright since it turns up so often.
How does the 6 times table help with the 12 times table?
Twelve is double six, so every answer is double the matching 6 times fact. If 6 × 7 = 42, then 12 × 7 = 84. If the 6 table is solid, this one is one doubling away.