3 Times Table
The 3 times table is the first one that needs a real strategy. The good news is there are two: build it from the 2 times table, and check it with a digit trick.
Counting up in 3s: 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30
Visual Explorer
Click any line in the table on the left to see it visualised below!
Choose objects:
3 × 1 = 3
1 group of 3 = 3 stars!
Test Yourself
Fill in every answer, then press Check Answers to see how you did.
The clever bit
Double it, then add one more group
Counting up in threes — 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 — works, but it gets slow and it is easy to lose your place. Build the answer instead:
Double the number, then add one more of it.
- 3 × 6 → double 6 is 12, add 6 → 18
- 3 × 7 → double 7 is 14, add 7 → 21
- 3 × 8 → double 8 is 16, add 8 → 24
That works because three groups is simply two groups plus one more group.
The digit-sum check
Every answer in the 3 times table shares a hidden property: add its digits together and the total will also divide by 3.
- 12 → 1 + 2 = 3 ✓
- 21 → 2 + 1 = 3 ✓
- 36 → 3 + 6 = 9 ✓
If the digits do not add up to a multiple of 3, the number is not in this table. It is a genuine mathematical rule rather than a memory trick, and it keeps working on enormous numbers — 4,713 has digits adding to 15, so it divides by 3 too.
Step one
Practise the 3 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 3 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 3 times table land on these. Each one has a way in.
3 × 7 = 21
Double 7 is 14, then add one more 7 → 21. Or remember it rhymes: three sevens are twenty-one.
3 × 8 = 24
Double 8 is 16, plus one more 8 → 24. Also handy: 24 is the number of hours in a day.
3 × 9 = 27
Three nines are 27. Check it with the digit trick: 2 + 7 = 9, which divides by 3.
Where the 3 times table shows up
Wheels on a tricycle, sides of a triangle, legs on a camera tripod. Four tricycles have 4 × 3 = 12 wheels.
Questions parents ask
How can I tell if a number is in the 3 times table?
Add up its digits. If the total divides by 3, so does the number. For 27, the digits make 9, which divides by 3 — so 27 is in the table. For 25, the digits make 7, which does not.
What is the easiest way to work out 3 times a number?
Double it, then add the number one more time. For 3 × 7: double 7 is 14, add 7 to get 21. This is far more reliable than counting up in threes.
Why is the 3 times table harder than the 2 and 5 times tables?
Because the answers do not end in a tidy repeating pattern the way the 2, 5 and 10 tables do. The digit-sum check gives you the pattern that the last digit will not.
Which facts in the 3 times table do children get wrong most?
3 × 7 and 3 × 8 are the usual culprits, because they sit in the middle where counting up gets tiring and the answers look similar. Practising just those two is usually enough.